2022 The American Express Round 3 Betting & Showdown Picks

Jan 22, 2022

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Patrick Cantlay followed up his 10-under round on Thursday with a 4-under 68 to take a one-shot lead over Tom Hoge after the second round of The American Express. Playing on the Nicklaus Tournament Course, and with winds starting to gust on his back-nine, Cantlay was unable to reproduce the scoring firepower he showed in the opening round. “I actually putted really well today and made nothing,” Cantlay said. “The greens were a little beat up and it was hard to make putts. But I rolled it really well and I rolled it how I wanted to, I just didn’t get any to go in.”

Hoge had a fantastic all-around performance, gaining 3.7 strokes tee-to-green, while shooting a 66 on the more difficult Stadium Course. With the winds expected to gust over 20 MPH on Saturday, Hoge will have a chance to overtake Cantlay on the easier La Quinta course. “I feel better playing La Quinta,” Hoge remarked. “A little more protected over there in the trees, a little shorter golf course. You can play a little more conservatively off tees and just get it in play and go from there.”

Behind Cantlay and Hoge sit a group of five players at 12-under, including perhaps the most talented player on Tour who has yet to win his first tournament, Will Zalatoris. He made 12 birdies and shot a round-best, 11-under 61. While he is playing on the Stadium Course on Saturday, the increased winds should be right up his alley. Speaking after today's round he said, "I live in Texas, so I’m used to it. Really, playing golf the last few days without a lot of wind has been a little strange for me, so I’m looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.”

If you were brave enough to throw something down on any of the non-Stadium Course "risers" that were mentioned in yesterday's article you are in a fairly decent position. Joseph Bramlett was tied for the lead until the wind wreaked havoc on his final two holes dropping him down to 12-under with Zalatoris. Each of Sam Ryder, Roger Sloan and Patton Kizzire also saw their odds go down as each is currently in the top 12 on the leaderboard.

With the increased wind, and many of the top players, including Cantlay and Zalatoris playing on the dangerous Stadium Course, we could see some wild swings on the leaderboard. With the cut-line after tomorrow's round projected at 8-under, this tournament is still very wide open. In looking for value, Jon Rahm is currently +2200 to win. He is only six shots back. Seamus Power is at +2900 at only four shots back. Both are excellent wind players who could easily climb right into the mix heading into Sunday's final round. I will instead focus my attention on a different addition to the outright card in the betting selections below.