American Express: Let’s get to know the unfamiliar names atop leaderboard

With one round remaining in the 2022 American Express golf tournament, the leaderboard includes a lot of names that are probably new to even avid golf fans.

That’s okay, and not altogether surprising. Six of the last 15 champions here had never won a PGA event before a victory in the desert.

So with that in mind, here is everything you need to know about the contenders at the top of the leaderboard. There are 10 players at 15-under or better.

Of this group, there is one major champion, one former champion in the desert, three international players, three players playing this event for the first time, and six players looking for their first career PGA Tour win.

Paul Barjon (-18)

Age: 29

From: Born in Bordeaux, France; resides in Fort Worth, Texas

College: TCU

Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero

Best finish at this event: First appearance

Current World Golf Ranking: 313

Notable: With a win, Barjon would be the seventh international winner in the tournament’s 62-year history. It marks the first time the desert’s golf tournament would have back-to-back international winners as Si Woo Kim of South Korea won last year.

Lee Hodges (-18)

Age: 26

From: Born in Huntsville, Alabama, resides in Athens, Alabama

College: UAB and Alabama

Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero

Best finish at this event: First appearance

Current World Golf Ranking: 312

Notable: Hodges is from an athletic family. His cousin, Logan Stenberg, is an offensive lineman in the NFL for the Detroit Lions (as of 2021).

Tom Hoge (-17)

Age: 32

From: North Carolina, but resides in Fargo, North Dakota

College: TCU

Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero

Best finish at this event: Tied for 6th in 2020

Current World Golf Ranking: 115

Notable: For starters, his name is pronounced exactly like the word Hoagie. This is the seventh time Hoge has played here and he missed the cut, four of the previous six, so this effort on these courses is a bit of a surprise.

Seamus Power (-16)

Age: 34

From: Tooraneena, County Waterford, Ireland

College: East Tennessee State

Number of PGA Tour wins: 1 (2021 Barbasol Championship)

Best finish at this event: Tie for 11th in 2018

Current World Golf Ranking: 49

Notable: Power won the Barbasol event last year on the sixth playoff hole over J.T. Poston. In doing so, he became the fifth player from the Republic of Ireland to win a PGA event, joining Pat Doyle, Peter O’Hara, Padraig Harrington, and Shane Lowry.

Lanto Griffin (-15)

Age: 33

From: Born in Mount Shasta, California, resides in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

College: VCU

Number of PGA Tour wins: 1 (2019 Houston Open)

Best finish at this event: Played twice and missed cut both times

Current World Golf Ranking: 117

Notable: Once on the Web.com Tour, Griffin won an event after making the cut on the number, the only time that has ever happened on that tour.

Harry Higgs (-15)

Harry Higgs tees off on the 13th hole of the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West during the American Express in La Quinta, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.

Age: 30

From: Born in Camden, New Jersey, lives in Dallas, Texas

College: SMU

Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero

Best finish at this event: Played here once (2020) and missed the cut

Current World Golf Ranking: 141

Notable: He’s not nervous when the bright lights are on. Higgs has only played in one major tournament in his career, the 2021 PGA Championship, and he finished tied for fourth.

Hudson Swafford (-15)

Age: 34

From: Born in Tallahassee, Florida; resides in Sea Island, Georgia

College: University of Georgia

Number of PGA Tour wins: Two (2017 CareerBuilder Challenge, 2020 Puerto Rico Championship)

Best finish at this event: Winner in 2017

Current World Golf Ranking: 166

Notable: Hudson Swafford won this event in 2017, notably edging out Adam Hadwin, whose week included a 59 at La Quinta Country Club.

Cameron Young (-15)

Age: 24

From: Born in Scarborough, New York; resides in Jupiter, Florida

College: Wake Forest

Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero

Best finish at this event: First appearance

Current World Golf Ranking: 134

Notable: Cameron Young is the only player currently on the PGA Tour whose last name begins with a Y.

Francesco Molinari (-15)

Francesco Molinari of Italy walks on the 14th hole during the third round of The American Express at the Stadium Course at PGA West on January 22, 2022, in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Age: 39

From: Born and lives in Turin, Italy

College: University of Turin

Number of PGA Tour wins: Three (2018 Quicken Loans, 2018 British Open, 2019 Arnold Palmer Invitational)

Best finish at this event: Tied for 10th in 2015

Current World Golf Ranking: 249

Notable: Molinari is one of 13 major champions in the field at The American Express this week. He won the 2018 British Open, outlasting a star-studded group of chasers that included Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, and Xander Schauffele.

Harold Varner III (-15)

Age: 31

From: Born in Akron, Ohio; resides in Charlotte, North Carolina

College: East Carolina

Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero

Best finish at this event: Tied for 18th in 2019

Current World Golf Ranking: 95

Notable: Varner does not have a PGA Tour win, but he does have a win on the European Tour. He won the Australian PGA Championship in 2016.