After the double Hawaiian event that kicked off the 2025 season, the PGA Tour leaves the islands for the The American Express, a full-field tournament with $8.8 million in prize money, where much of the attention is on Nick Dunlap, the player defending his title who made history last year by winning the event while still an amateur.
The young American, within the rotation of courses played in the first three rounds, started with a solid 67 at La Quinta, five under par, placing him among the top 30 on the leaderboard. However, the standout name in the first round, played on Thursday, early Friday morning in Spain, was his compatriot J.J. Poston (-10), who managed to reach double digits in just 18 holes.
Last week, at Waialae, Poston missed the cut. And seven days earlier, at the champions’ Sentry, he had to settle for a modest tied 40th place. But the 31-year-old golfer from North Carolina, with three titles to his name and last year’s winner of the Shriners, seems to have regained his best form on his return to the mainland after the island swing, with no less than nine birdies and an eagle at the Nicklaus Tournament Course. He knows this American Express is a good opportunity for him: he was tied sixth in 2023 and 11th last year. So he’s trying to make the most of his special affinity with the deserts…
Behind him on the leaderboard was Justin Lower (-9), just one stroke back with a 63 at La Quinta, without bogeys and with two consecutive eagles. Tied for third place were players like Jason Day (-8), Chris Kirk (-8), who also played at La Quinta, J.J. Spaun (-8), who last Sunday came close to victory at the Sony Open after leading the final round until the penultimate hole, as well as Joel Dahmen (-8) and Matti Schmid (-8), who started the tournament at the Nicklaus Tournament.
Canadian Taylor (-7), last Sunday’s winner, used the momentum to become one of the best performers in this first round at the Pete Dye Stadium Course alongside Carson Young (-7) and Jackson Suber (-7). Other notable names at this Californian event like Will Zalatoris (-6), Justin Thomas (-5), or Francesco Molinari (-5) took the opportunity to position themselves, with Patrick Cantlay (-4), Sam Burns (-3), Tony Finau (-3), Nick Echavarría (-3), and Rickie Fowler (-3) slightly further back.
Blades Brown (PAR), the 17-year-old prodigy playing this week with a sponsor’s exemption, carded a 72 at La Quinta in his first professional round. “The first two holes were a challenge, my adrenaline was high. Whenever that happens, I hit the ball very far, so the distances weren’t as we expected,” he confessed after his round. Scheffler, who was scheduled to play this week, announced 10 days ago his withdrawal to allow more recovery time for a hand injury suffered over Christmas.
