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Nick Dunlap will return to the scene of one of the PGA Tour’s most remarkable stories next week when he defends his title at The American Express tournament in La Quinta.
Ranked just 4,121st in the Official World Golf Ranking as still a sophomore at the University of Alabama, Dunlap became the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour with a one-shot victory over South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout last January. Dunlap, who later won in 2024 as a professional, is now ranked 32nd in the world.
Dunlap will lead a tournament field that includes nine of the top 25 players in the world, including No. 2 Xander Schauffele. Schauffele had a breakthrough year in 2024, winning two major titles at the PGA Championship and the British Open. Schauffele has finished third in The American Express each of the last two years.
Nineteen of the top 50 players in the world will be in the field.
More: American Express golf tournament 2025: Tickets, parking, schedule and more
Other highly ranked players in the field, which has an $8.8 million purse, include No. 7 Wyndham Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open winner, and Patrick Cantlay, ranked No. 11 in the world and an eight-time PGA Tour winner including the 2021 Tour Championship. Cantlay finished second in the 2022 American Express.
Other players entered for next week include No. 15 Billy Horschel, a winner on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in 2024 and one of seven golfers who played on the 2024 U.S. Ryder Cup team. Also in the field are No. 18 Sungjae Im, No. 20 Sam Burns, No. 21 Justin Thomas, a two-time PGA Championship winner and tied for third in The American Express last year, No. 23 Tom Kim, a 12-time winner around the world including three times on the PGA Tour, and No. 24 Tony Finau.
Among the other major champions entered for next week are Brian Harman, the 2023 British Open winner, PGA Championship winner Jason Day, 2015 American Express winner and former PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner, two-time major winner Zach Johnson, British Open winner Francesco Molinari and Masters champion Danny Willett.
Dunlap and Dufner are among six past The American Express champions in the field. The list includes two-time desert winner Bill Haas, Charley Hoffman, Si Woo Kim and Jhonattan Vegas.
Other familiar names in the 156-play professional division of the pro-am are Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar, Alex Noren and Camilo Villegas.
Blade Brown, a 17-year-old making his professional debut, is in the field on a sponsor’s exemption, the same way Dunlap was in the field last year.
Not in the field is world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who originally committed to the event but withdrew to allow more healing time for his hand that underwent surgery after a Christmas cooking accident.
The pro-am begins Thursday, with 156 pros playing with 156 amateur on three desert courses — the Pete Dye Stadium Course and Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West and La Quinta Country Club. The low 65 pros and ties after 54 holes will advance to the Sunday round at the Stadium Course.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Nick Dunlap, Xander Schauffele, major winners lead American Express field
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