Practice rounds began Monday for the 2020 American Express golf tournament set to get underway on Thursday and run through the weekend in La Quinta.

Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler are among the slate of professional golfers set to compete, along with Adam Long, who’s 13-foot birdie putt last year securedthe rookie’s first win on the PGA Tour in his sixth professional start.

The tournament, formally known as the Bob Hope Desert Classic, will be played at the TPC Stadium Course at PGA West.

After play wraps up on Friday, Stevie Nicks will perform live. Then on Saturday, country music superstar Luke Bryan will take the stage. Both concerts begin at 5 p.m. at the PGA West driving range.

Mickelson, who won in 2002 and 2004, finished in a tie for second last year, and this year returns to not only play, but to host. His charity, the Mickelson Foundation, will serve as the tournament host organization.

This will be the fifth year the tournament will be played at the Stadium Course, which was named one of the “top 100 courses to play” by GOLF Magazine in 2016-2017. It was designed by renowned course designer Pete Dye, who died last week at the age of 94.

Gates open at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday for the event’s pro-am, which is open to the public.

The event dates back to 1959, when a group of local businessmen and community leaders decided to produce a golf tournament to support local nonprofits, naming it the Palm Springs Golf Classic, according to La Quinta-based Desert Classic Charities. The tournament was later renamed the Bob Hope Desert Classic and has undergone several name changes in recent years.

Last September, the PGA Tour announced that American Express signed a multi-year deal as title sponsor of the event now known as “The American Express.”

This year, the prize purse is $6.7 million, with $1,206,000 going to the winner.

Tee times each day begin at about 8:30 a.m., with gates opening an hour before.

For more information, visit theamexgolf.com.

>> Want to read more stories like this? Get our Free Daily Newsletters Here!