J.T. Poston Leads The American Express

J.T. Poston shot a 10-under 62 to take a one-stroke lead over Justin Lower in the opening round of The American Express on Thursday.

Poston carded nine birdies and an eagle on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West in the Palm Springs-area desert. Lower was one stroke ahead of an 8-under pack that included Jason Day, Joel Dahmen, Chris Kirk, J.J. Spaun and Matti Schmid.

Poston excels on the three mostly generous courses used for this event, finishing tied for sixth at The American Express in 2023 and tied for 11th last year. The North Carolina native has also done well in other deserts, winning in Las Vegas last fall.

“When I feel like I'm really hitting it good, I feel like I've got all the shots and can get the ball close to the hole and really take advantage of those scoring clubs,” said Poston, a three-time PGA Tour winner. “I feel like I can go out there and make a bunch of birdies like I did today, so a tournament like this sort of plays into that.”

Lower shot a bogey-free 63 at La Quinta that included consecutive eagles.

“I've never done that,” he said. “I don't even think I've done it in just a regular round, but let alone a tournament round. Yeah, any time you can make back-to-back eagles, it certainly helps the score.”

Canadian Nick Taylor built on his victory in the Sony Open last Sunday with a 65 at the Pete Dye Stadium Course. Tony Finau was 7 under, while Justin Thomas shot 67 and Patrick Cantlay shot 68.

Blades Brown, a 17-year-old prodigy playing on a sponsor exemption, shot 72 in his first round as a professional. After bogeying his second hole and double-bogeying his third, the high school junior from Nashville, Tennessee, calmed down and strung together three consecutive birdies before finishing with 12 straight pars.

“It was challenging the first couple of holes, just because my adrenaline was up,” Brown said. “Whenever that happens, I hit the ball super far, so our distances weren't going exactly what we thought they were going to go. Then a poor shot on Hole 3 left me in the hazard, unfortunately. I was able to battle back, and I was super pumped about that.”

The American Express is the third event of the new PGA Tour season and one of only two pro-ams on the calendar, a carryover from the event's long history as the Bob Hope Desert Classic.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler planned to play, but he dropped out 10 days ago to give his right hand injury more time to heal.

Defending champion Nick Dunlap shot a 67 at La Quinta in his return to the tournament where he became the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour.

“It's nice to be back,” Dunlap said earlier this week. “It's nice to know where I'm going for the first week [as a pro]. I don't have to find everything for the first time.”

Now 21, Dunlap turned pro one week after winning in the desert and jumped straight from the camaraderie and cloistered life of the Alabama golf team into the cauldron of the PGA Tour. Although he struggled in stretches, he was eventually named the tour's rookie of the year after collecting another win at the Barracuda Championship in Truckee, California.

“I would definitely say it was overwhelming,” Dunlap said. “I had a lot of stuff happen, whether it's on the golf course or off the golf course, that it all came at me pretty quick, and some of it I was ready for, some of it I wasn't, and got blindsided a little bit. My life got sped up a little bit, and in a good way. I'm out here, I'm living my dream, and wouldn't change it for anything, but it all doesn't just happen easy or smoothly.”