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The American Express is the first event of the 2024 season in the continental United States. Although the event will showcase a star-studded field, several of the world's top players, such as Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, will be absent from La Quinta, California.
The reasons for the players missing out on The American Express are varied. While some have other commitments, most of them will use this week to rest after the Hawaii Open.
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Let's take a look at the top 6 players who will not be at The American Express and the reasons for their absence.
6 big-name golfers missing from The American Express 2024 field
Three members of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) Top 5 and six from the Top 10 will not be seen at The American Express. They are as follows:
1- Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy will not be at La Quinta because it coincides with the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, where the Northern Irishman is the defending champion.
The Hero Dubai Desert Classic is also the first event of the DP World Tour's Golden Series in 2024, where McIlroy would hope to accumulate as many points as possible for the Race to Dubai. Notably, the current World No. 2 topped the European points list in 2023.
2- Jon Rahm
The Spaniard is the defending champion of The American Express, however, he will not be a part of the 2024 edition. Jon Rahm announced his absence even before signing with LIV Golf.
However, that is now inconsequential as the World No. 3 is banned from participating in all PGA Tour-sanctioned events. Rahm will only be allowed to participate in the four majors.
3- Viktor Hovland
The Norwegian started his season two weeks ago at The Sentry, did not play in the Sony Open, and nor will he be participating in The American Express. Everything seems to indicate that Viktor Hovland will structure his schedule around Signature Events and majors.
The next Signature Event will be the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which will be played in two weeks at Pebble Beach. He might be seen a week before at the Farmers Insurance Open.
4- Max Homa
Max Homa is the defending champion of the Farmers Insurance Open which is set to be played next week at Torrey Pines. This explains why he has chosen the Farmers Insurance Open to make his next opening after The Sentry.
5- Matt Fitzpatrick
Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick, who played his first two tournaments of the season in Hawaii, will miss The American Express and is likely to miss the Farmers Insurance Open, to get rest. He will play again in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
6- Brian Harman
The 2023 champion of The Open Championship is in a similar situation to Fitzpatrick. Brian Harman played The Sentry and The Sony Open with excellent results (T5 and T18, respectively), so, most likely, his particular schedule reflects rest for this week.
