Record low scoring at top and bottom of leaderboard at The American Express this week

The low scoring in The American Express this year wasn’t limited to the top of the leaderboard.

Golfers had to shoot 13-under par 203 just to make the cut and get a chance to play on Sunday. In other words, three consecutive rounds of 68 at the tournament this week would mean you could go home on Saturday night.

Since The American Express switched to a four-day, 72-hole format in 2012, shedding its five-day, four-course format that began in the tournament’s first year of 1960, the 13-under cut line is tied for the lowest score needed to play Sunday. The 2018 event also saw the cut at 13-under par.

That means both low cuts came after the tournament changed its rotation to the Pete Dye Stadium Couse at PGA West, the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West and La Quinta Country Club. Before that, the rotation from 2012 to 2015 was the Palmer Course and Nicklaus Private Course, both at PGA West, and La Quinta Country Club.

Record tying

Patrick Cantlay was 19 under through three rounds at The American Express, including a 67 on Saturday. That’s the same day Cantlay saw two of his records in golf tied.

First, amateur Nick Dunlap shot a 12-under 60 at La Quinta Country Club to take the tournament lead at 27 under. Dunlap became the second amateur to shoot a 60 in a PGA Tour event. The other was Cantlay, who shot 60 at the Travelers Championship.

Then Justin Thomas shot a 61 at the Stadium Course at PGA West in the third round. That matched the course tournament record set, again, by Cantlay in the final round of the 2021 American Express.

Amateur hour

From the start of the year through 2017, The American Express never had an amateur play in its professional field on a sponsor’s exemption. That changed in 2018 when Charlie Reiter, a high school senior from Palm Desert High School who had made the cut in the Australian Open the previous year, was given an exemption to his hometown event. Reiter missed the cut that week and missed the cut the next two years, but Reiter did set a course record at the Stadium Course in the third round of the 2020 event with a 63.

Caleb Surratt of the University of Tennessee played in the 2023 tournament and shot 7-under par through three rounds to miss the cut by two shots. Nick Dunlap is the third amateur to receive a sponsor's exemption to the La Quinta event.

Back in action

A pair of players who had taken significant time away from the game because of injuries had different results at The American Express this week.

Daniel Berger, whose back had been so bad that he hadn’t played in an event since the 2022 U.S. Open, returned to competition this week and made the cut on the number at 13-under par. Berger shots rounds of 68, 68 and 67.

Bill Haas, a two-time American Express winner, had been out of action since the 2023 RBC Canadian Open because of elbow surgery. Haas started the week well with a 68, but managed rounds of just 73 and 71 in the second and third rounds, respectively, to miss the cut at 4 under.

Changing the course

The Stadium Course at PGA West has been the host course of The American Express since 2016 (yes, there was that one year back in 1987) and the course is noted for its deep bunkers and large lakes. But when the players return to the desert for the 2025 American Express, they will see a different course.

PGA West officials say the Stadium Course will close on May 1 for some heavy renovation. That will include re-doing all the greens and putting in new tifeagle grass. In addition, the bunkers will be flattened out to resemble the kind of bunkers designer Pete Dye wanted when the course opened in 1986. Faces on many of those bunkers will also be renovated to be more vertical. Officials hope the golf course will re-open in November.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: PGA: Three rounds of 68 wouldn't have made the cut in this wee's American Express