Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Many of us who live part of our lives in the California desert were concerned that the American Express Golf Tournament would be shelved by the powers-that-be on PGA Golf Tour management.

But, no.

The good news is the AMEX – as it is called – will be coming back next year.

Good news rests here for several reasons:

• The AMEX represents solid economic development for the region.
• The number 1 golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler, will be able to return to the desert to defend the title he won earlier this year.
• And, for me?  I will be able to attend the tournament again, which is held on one of the courses in three-course rotation only a couple blocks from our home in La Quinta, California.

Credit should go to Larry Bohannan, from the Palm Springs Desert Sun, for reporting that the AMEX is alive and well.

Here are excerpts from what he wrote:

• After months of uncertainty over the PGA Tour’s slimmed-down 2027 schedule and which tournaments will and won’t survive, there is now one certainty:  The American Express will be played for the 68th consecutive year in the Coachella Valley.
• The American Express is the first tour event to have its dates officially announced for 2027.  As one of the early season events, the American Express needs to start working with golf courses, sponsors, hotels, and other tournament vendors to put the tournament together just 10 months from now.
• The American Express started in 1960 and was hosted for decades by entertainer and desert icon Bob Hope.  But the event’s future had been in doubt after PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp began talking in 2025 about a smaller tour, shrinking to perhaps 25 events from the more than 40 played in 2025.  The AMEX could have been shelved.
• In 2026, American Express sponsored a $9.2 million event with a field of 156 pros and 156 amateurs playing on three courses in La Quinta —  the Pete Dye Stadium Course and the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West, and La Quinta Country Club.

Now, as for the notion of economic development, what is the measure of success?

Official reports suggest that the golf tournament generates somewhere between $20 million to $24 million in positive annual economic impact for the California desert.  The event attracts 65,000 to 70,000 spectators annually, driving tourism, boosting hotel occupancy, and benefiting local restaurants and businesses. 

And, of course, while not part of the above summary, I, too, spend money at the AMEX, which is money well-spent as I often walk over to La Quinta Country Club.