LA QUINTA, CALIF. – Recent U.S. Ryder Cup winners Tony Finau and Scottie Scheffler and 2021 tournament winner Si Woo Kim have committed to return to play in The American Express from Jan. 20-23, 2022 alongside tournament host and World Golf Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson, who won his sixth major championship and 45th PGA TOUR title at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.
Mickelson, Finau, Scheffler and Kim will be among 156 professionals and 156 amateurs to play a round each at PGA WEST’s Stadium Course, Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club from Thursday, Jan. 20 to Saturday, Jan. 22. The final round is exclusively played on the Stadium Course on Sunday, Jan. 23.
Among the PGA TOUR’s longest-tenured tournaments and approaching its 63rd edition, The American Express is the first PGA TOUR regular season event in the continental U.S. each year and kicks off the TOUR’s West Coast swing. All ticket options for the 2022 The American Express are currently on sale at the tournament’s official website, www.theamexgolf.com.
“Though we are still six weeks away from teeing up the first ball for the 2022 The American Express tournament, these early playing commitments from Tony, Scottie and Si Woo in joining our tournament host, Phil, go a long way towards shaping a strong professional field that resonates favorably with our loyal and knowledgeable golf fans,” said Pat McCabe, Executive Director of The American Express.
“What Phil did at the 2021 PGA Championship was a fairytale that had never been written before. Tony and Scottie will be among the higher-ranking players at our tournament and we know fans are excited to see them in action again. Scottie is a young American on the rise who could make The American Express his first PGA TOUR win. No tournament field is complete without its defending champion, and Si Woo will attempt to become the second player in our 63-year tournament history to repeat as champion since Johnny Miller won in 1975 and 1976.”
Mickelson, this tournament’s 2002 and 2004 champion (then known as the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic), authored one of golf’s all-time legendary stories in May when he became golf’s oldest major championship winner – 24 days short of his 51st birthday – by winning the PGA Championship by two strokes. His 22 birdies that week led the field and he held off his competition on the weekend after taking a share of the 36-hole lead.
Finau, the World No. 12 who captured his second PGA TOUR victory in August at THE NORTHERN TRUST (the TOUR’s opening FedExCup Playoffs event), is coming off his best season since joining the PGA TOUR full-time in 2014. Finau recorded three of his four best PGA TOUR finishes consecutively in 2021 through the Southern California swing – placing fourth at The American Express (four shots back of Kim), followed by runner-up finishes at the Farmers Insurance Open and The Genesis Invitational.
Playing in his third full PGA TOUR season, World No. 11 Scheffler posted a 2-0-1 record (for 2½ points) in his first U.S. Ryder Cup appearance in September. In his first two full PGA TOUR seasons, the Texan reached the TOUR Championship (FedExCup Playoffs) twice – finishing fifth in the FedExCup standings as a TOUR rookie in 2020 – and has finished top-19 in all six of his major championship starts, beginning with a T4 at the 2020 PGA Championship. In 2021, he placed T7 at the U.S. Open, T8 at the PGA Championship and The Open Championship and T18 at the Masters. Scheffler finished third in The American Express in 2020.
Kim shot four rounds in the 60s -- including a stellar final-round 8-under-par 64 on the Stadium Course – to win The American Express this past January with an overall score of 23-under 265. It made for his third PGA TOUR title, and his first since 2017, when he became the youngest winner in the history of THE PLAYERS Championship (21 years, 10 months, 16 days). Kim went on to post four other top-10s later in 2021, including T9s at Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament and THE PLAYERS Championship, and a T2 (via playoff) at the Wyndham Championship. Internationally, Kim represented South Korea at this year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo and at the 2018 World Cup, and he played for the International team in the 2017 Presidents Cup.
The American Express Concert Series also returns for its fifth year (since 2017) with two prominent and popular musical acts. Iconic Los Angeles pop rock band Maroon 5 will open the Concert Series after the conclusion of second-round play on Friday, Jan. 21, with heralded American country musician and songwriter Brad Paisley taking the stage after the tournament’s third round on Saturday, Jan. 22. The PGA WEST Stadium Course driving range makes for a great open-air concert atmosphere under the evening stars.
Grounds tickets for Friday’s second round and Saturday’s third round are $125 for each day (includes admission to the golf tournament and post-round concert). An upgraded ‘Champions Club’ ticket for the concert days (Jan. 21-22) – which entitles patrons to experience the PGA TOUR golf action while enjoying a hosted breakfast, lunch, snack and full bar in the Champions Club, preferred parking and exclusive concert viewing access near the stage – is $350 for each day.
Since its inception in 1960 as the Palm Springs Golf Classic, Riverside County’s PGA TOUR event has generated over $63 million for non-profit organizations dedicated to supporting Coachella Valley residents.
In November, The American Express and The Mickelson Foundation – a 501(c)(3) organization and the tournament’s non-profit arm since 2019 – donated $1.1 million from the 2021 event towards Coachella Valley-based charities which support health and wellness, youth sports, family support, education and homelessness.
In accordance with the tournament’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, it is anticipated that all spectators of The American Express are to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of one’s entry into the tournament. More detailed information will be provided closer to the tournament, and for the most updated health and safety information please visit www.theamexgolf.com/health--safety.html.
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