La Quinta, CA

One thing is certain this week in the desert; it will be another low-scoring affair. The thing that is not so easy to forecast in this type of tournament is who are the true contenders. Jon Rahm, who is in the field this week and the heavy favorite at 6/1, won this event in 2018 but the other winners in the past five years have been a series of B-listers including Andrew Landry, Adam Long, Hudson Swafford, and Si Woo Kim. Rahm and Patrick Cantlay are clearly the class of the field but expect to see some other less familiar names on the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon.

Who should win? – Jon Rahm (6/1)

He is currently the best player in the world and is capable of winning on any type of golf course.

Who could win? – Patrick Cantlay (9/1), Tony Finau (25/1), Abraham Ancer (28/1), Scottie Scheffler (20/1), Matthew Wolff (40/1)

All of these players have had good results in this tournament and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see any of them take the top prize. Scheffler is still looking for his first win and it will come soon. Wolff seems to be over his crisis of confidence and he has shown the ability to go low at these types of venues.

Longshots to consider – Adam Hadwin (90/1), Andrew Landry (140/1), Seamus Power (40/1)

Hadwin has been quiet of late but had three consecutive top-3’s in this tournament a few years back. Landry won in 2020 and finished runner-up to Rahm in ‘18. Lately, he has alternated a series of MC’s and top-10’s , so watch out for him this week. Power is not really a long shot as he has been steadily climbing the WGR in the past year. At 40/1, would be a good bet to win outright.

Who will win? – Rahm

Unlike some other top players, Rahm has the ability to get up for all tournaments and if he has anything at all going this week, will be the player to beat.