American Express surprise leader joins JT, Xander Schaufe with rare feat

American Express is operating in Palm Springs this week. The The PGA Tour is coming up with two exciting events in Hawaii and now it’s hitting the West Coast momentum. In the first round of the PGA West, JT Poston unexpectedly took the lead at 10 under. That circle put him in the same area as Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele in recent history, according to Justin Ray of Twenty One.

“JT Poston opens The American Express with 62,” Ray posted on social media. “It’s his 6th round of 62 or less on Tour since the start of 2019. Only 2 players – Xander Schaufele (7) and Justin Thomas (7) have more in that range.”

This great car did not translate into a ton of wins for Poston. In his career, he has three victories, three second places and three third places. While not every round of 62 can turn into a win, Poston should take advantage at The American Express.

The tournament is held on three different courses at PGA West in Palm Springs. Poston took the lead while playing The Nicklaus Tournament Course. It’s the only time he’ll play there this week so he took advantage of the course. Friday will be a much bigger test when they play at Pete Die Stadium. The last round is played there.

American Express is off to a hot start

Poston was far from the only player to post a low round on The American Express on Thursday. Justin Lower shot a 63 at La Quinta Country Club, the lowest at the course. And Nick Taylor, Carson Young and Jackson Suber all shot seven under at the stadium. It sets up a fascinating Friday as they look to take advantage of the new courses.

When you watch the PGA Tour today, don’t expect a traditional Friday cut. Everyone at American Express plays three rounds before the 54-hole cut. So no one will be going home before playing every course, and on Thursday we learned that small numbers can be found on all three courses.

Blades Brown is one of American Express’ biggest stories. The 17-year-old is making his debut in Palm Springs and is off to a decent start. He shot an even par 72 on the La Quinta course. He is well below the projected cut, but has two rounds to iron out before the cut.

American Express leaves Palm Springs on Friday.

Christopher Hennessy is an MLB contributing editor at ClutchPoints, with additional expertise in the NHL and golf. He graduated from Fordham University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and has work experience at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders reporter.