Fans flock to Day 3 of the American Express Tournament
Three days down, and one more to go for The American Express Tournament.
Gusty winds didn't stop fans from making their way to the PGA West courses. “My favorite part was watching them get into the hole on number 17 where they have to hit it onto the island,” said attendee Kaylee Spasov.
Players were met with a bit of a challenge at the beginning of the day, but it was smooth sailing from there. “Fun, a lot of fun you know,” player John Pak added.
Crowds surrounded the 18th hole throughout the day to see players finish out their rounds. “Honestly, just seeing the pros out here and watching them play really well,” said spectator Haylie Hutchinson.
“Definitely seeing Phil. I know he started out a little slow but getting to see a few amateurs get some shots that was a lot of fun,” spectator Connor Houston added.
From the golf course to the vendors, spectators said it was a great day to enjoy the tournament. "I didn't expect a turnout like this it was pretty rowdy so it was fun," Houston added, "You know, especially after Covid we love seeing it and you know, we're back to normal. The way it's supposed to be.”
Saturday ended with a concert featuring country singer Brad Paisley.
Sunday will mark the final round of the tournament. American Express CEO Stephen Squeri told News Channel 3 golf may have taken center stage this week, but the event is all about giving back to the community. "Come out and support the tournament because you are supporting the philanthropic endeavors of the entire community.”
And if you weren’t able to make it the AmEx tournament this time around, you have a lot of time in the years to come.
This week, American Express extended its sponsorship of the event until 2028. The credit card company took over the tournament in 2020.
Squeri said he’s excited to see it grow. "We wanna get more attendance at the tournament, uh we continue to improve the experience here and I think my team has done a fabulous job. And we’ll continue to bring new acts here, music so people can just have a lot of fun.”
On Saturday, Squeri himself made it onto the fairway with golfer John Pak. The two of them go back at least 20 years, since Pak was just a baby, when they were neighbors in their hometown in New Jersey.
“We played together today and you know we lived in the same block in Jersey about 20 years ago," Pak added, "So it just shows you golf has got such a small world and you know we caught up and talked about local stuff in Jersey so it was really fun, really cool.”
Squeri said he hopes he can bring golf fans from the east coast out here to the Coachella Valley in the years to come.
