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Sinner opened up strongly, winning the first two rounds without dropping a set. He first saw Gaston retire after the first two sets, in which Sinner outscored him by 9 games, before he demolished Duckworth by 11 games. On the other side, Spizzirri did well enough to reach the third round for the first time here after beating Fonseca in 4 sets and then Wu in 5 sets. Sinner is way better, and he will look to avoid spending too much time on court in the hottest day of the tournament so far, so got to expect some quicker sets, which should see him cover this handicap in the end.

Ryggs Johnston finished T33 last week at the Dubai Invitational with major highlight of firing in an ace on par three 8th hole. He was the second-best American, finishing three shots behind Patrick Reed, but that came after a disaster on the 18th and final hole on Sunday where he posted a 9 after finding water and making a real mess of the hole that gave him fits through the whole weekend, as he played it 3 over par in the first three days. He missed the cut on his debut here a year ago but still found 7 birdies in those first two rounds, 6 of which came on the easier back 9, so no doubt he will know his way around better now, and he showed he can avoid mistakes for the most part if we remove that final-hole debacle. In a slightly smaller field of just 7 players across the pond, there is huge value backing him to finish as the best American.

Frittelli opened the year with a very good showing and a T10 finish at the Dubai Invitational last week. He is 3 for 3 here previously, with two of those being top-10 finishes, including last year when he finished T10 after ending on a bad note being 2 over par on the last 5 holes. Dylan finished last year well, notching results of T14 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and T36 at the Mauritius Open before carrying some of that momentum into this year, so he is playing decent enough that this price is definitely worth giving a look to South African.

McIlroy opened the new season with a decent showing and a T3 finish at the Dubai Invitational, finishing 2 shots off the winner. He admitted he needed to shake off some rust and used that tournament as practice for this week and the much bigger prize pool for a tournament at which he has an exceptional record. He made the cut in his last 12 attempts here and never finished below 10th place in those 12 showings, with 4 wins and a further 4 top-5 finishes. He ranked 2nd for Strokes Gained: Putting last week, which is a great sign for this week, so got to expect Rory to clean up some other areas of his game, which should result in another strong showing and, quite possibly, a 5th title in the Dubai Desert Classic.

Hovland is 2 for 3 here previously, highlighted by winning the title back in 2022. Viktor had a really good 2025, highlighted by winning the Valspar Championship and finishing 3rd at the U.S. Open. He also finished the year strong with five top-25 finishes in the last 5 events he featured in, with 3 of those being top-7 finishes while he also played in the Ryder Cup in between those. He sits 14th in the OWGR and has shown he can play his best here in the desert, so got to see nice value backing Viktor to be right in the mix come Sunday afternoon.

McIlroy has a tremendous record at this tournament, being 12 for his last 12, with all of those 12 finishes inside the top 10, highlighted by 4 wins and 4 further top-5 finishes. He started with T3 last week in the opening tournament of the year last week and shook off any rust that might have crept into his game, so got to expect Rory to be at his best this weekend and to finish as the best from GB and Ireland.

Griffin had a superb 2025, which he finished in an excellent way by being runner-up at the Procore Championship and then winning the WWT Championship in Mexico to end the year. He started this year with a solid T19 in Hawaii last week, where he began with a round of 63. This week at The American Express should see a lot of low scores, and Griffin excels on easier, scorable courses. His most recent win in Mexico came at 29 under par, so got expect another good showing from Ben that could easily see him contend come Sunday afternoon.

Hall finished last season with 3 top-20 finishes in his last 5 starts. He opened this year with an excellent showing in Hawaii last week, taking T6 in the end. He was T21 here 12 months ago after a fine 66-68 start, following T8 and T10 finishes at The Sentry and Sony Open. With the type of form he is in at the moment and his propensity to start the season strong, simply got to fancy Harry for another strong finish this week at PGA West.

Dunlap closed out last year with solid showings, taking T8 at the WWT Championship in Mexico and T22 at the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan. He started this year with T61 in Hawaii last week after excellent 65-68 opening rounds, as he struggled on Saturday in gusty winds, posting a 77 which ruined his chances of a good result. He fired a round of 61 for 11 under par in the WWT Championship near the end of last year as he can play really well on shorter, scorable courses like this week's one in PGA West. He won here on debut as an amateur back in 2024 and was a decent T34 when defending last year, so this really is the type of course that suits him. That should see another good showing and potentially see him contend come Sunday afternoon.

Si Woo Kim finished last year strong, notching top-25 finishes in his last 7 starts, highlighted by three top-5 finishes which came at the BMW PGA Championship, RSM Classic, and Australian Open. He then opened this year with a solid showing in Hawaii last week where he was T11, with four very solid rounds, and only starting 4 over par on the first 8 holes on Thursday hampered him from truly contending on Sunday. He has a strong record here at PGA West, being 5 for his last 5 with four of those being top-25 finishes, highlighted by a win in 2021, which is one of his 4 wins on Bermuda-grass greens. The Korean usually performs his best on shorter courses, where his excellent approach play can get him many great scoring chances, and if the putter follows suit with his hot form, simply got to feel like he could be right in the mix and fighting for the victory.

Rams have an excellent team all around, which is playing at a really high level this season. Their QB, Stafford, led them to the title in 2022, and he is playing some of the best football of his career this year under McVay's helm. They have a superb young defense this year, filled with talent all over it, and they are one of the least penalized teams in the league. Being that young on defense allowed them to add Adams to their receiving core alongside one of the best receivers in the league, Nacua. Rams also have a really good running game with Kyren Williams and a whole stable of solid tight ends. So, with an experienced, Super Bowl-winning QB like Stafford, who usually plays his best in the biggest games, you simply have to like the Rams to go all the way and win another ring in Santa Clara this season.