Best Head-to-Head Matchup Bets for The American Express

The PGA Tour heads to Southern California for The American Express this week, the first tournament in the continental United States in 2022.

I've already given out my top picks to win, as well as a few log shot picks, so now's the time to look at a few tournament matchups.

These types of bets are a lot easier to win. They are one-vs-one bets that pit one golfer against another. If the golfer you bet on finishes the tournament with a better score than the golfer you bet against, you win your bet.

Keep in mind that these tournament bets last for all four rounds. They are different than round matchups, which are just for one specific round.

All odds listed below are via WynnBET Sportsbook.

Tony Finau +100 vs. Scottie Scheffler

This will be the first time that Scottie Scheffler will be competing since the Hero World Challenge back in the first week of December. Meanwhile, Tony Finau has already shaken off the rust at the Tournament of Champions to weeks ago. We saw at last week's Sony Open that those that competed the week before, had a slight advantage. I expect the same here, as Scheffler will need to find his competition swing again.

Scheffler missed the cut at The American Express last year, while Finau finished in fourth. I like him quite a bit at +100 (bet $100 to profit $100).

Russell Henley -115 vs. Seamus Power

This is a matchup between two golfers who were in contention at last week's Sony Open. Russell Henley was leading for the majority of the tournament, before giving up the lead on the 72nd hole and then losing in a playoff to Hideki Matsuyama. Seamus Power was hovering near the top of the leaderboard for the entire event, and finished T3.

With the odds set at a pick'em, I'm going to back Henley here and hope that last week's meltdown doesn't effect him negatively this week. He still ranks third on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: approach, and I'll always favor a good ball striker.

Justin Rose +100 vs. Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Christaan Bezuidenhout is a popular name among golf bettors, but he shouldn't be favored in a matchup with Justin Rose. He had a solid T17 finish at the Sony Open last week, but his game isn't versatile enough to succeed at event like The American Express that's held on three different golf courses. He ranks 81st in strokes gained: off-the-tee, 168th in strokes gained: around-the-green, and his usual strength, his putting, hasn't been that strong so far this season, ranking just 111th.

Justin Rose finished the 2021 calendar year with a T12 at the RSM Classic and a T9 at the Hero World Challenge, which are promising signs for what's to come. The former US Open champion had an off year in 2021, but I expect him to bounce back in 2022.