GOLF: Min Woo Lee, Pierceson Coody lead The American Express

LA QUINTA, Calif. — Min Woo Lee of Australia and Pierceson Coody shared the first-round lead at The American Express after both shot an impressive 10-under-par 62 at the Nicklaus Tournament Course on Thursday.

Coody made a dramatic run on the back nine, recording seven consecutive birdies to build momentum and grab the top spot.

“I seem to get going hot whenever it kind of snowballs,” Coody said. “So I don’t know what it is, I’m not thinking anything different. Yeah, I know that I’ve rattled off a few like this where I made a bunch in a row and it’s kind of just the style of this week.”

Three Courses, One Cut

This week’s field will play the first three rounds at three different courses — one round each at the Pete Dye Stadium Course, the Nicklaus Tournament Course, and La Quinta Country Club. The cut will come after 54 holes on Saturday, with the top 65 players and ties advancing to Sunday’s final round at the Pete Dye Stadium Course.

Lee: Staying Grounded Despite Strong Start

Lee, 27, earned his first PGA Tour victory last March at the Houston Open. He also made four birdies in a row late in his round and admitted he’s trying to stay focused as the tournament progresses.

“I think golf is — you can very easily get ahead of yourself,” Lee said. “There’s still three more days. You still got to get yourself in contention. Yes, I played one of the easier courses, so the other waves are going to get these conditions as well. So just go out there and try to play the best and stick to your processes.”

Lee also revealed he changed his putting grip recently, and the early results have been positive.

“It’s good that you see results straight away,” he said. “But that was pretty much the anxiousness that I had. I didn’t know how it would go on the greens and it turned out well.”

Scheffler One Shot Back

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler opened his 2026 season with a strong performance at La Quinta Country Club. He made six birdies through the first eight holes and finished with a bogey-free 9-under 63. Scheffler also led the field in greens in regulation, hitting 17 out of 18.

“I was really sharp on the front nine,” Scheffler said. “Made some nice putts. Hit some good iron shots. A lot of good tee balls. I wasn’t as sharp as I hoped to be on the back nine, but I scrambled pretty well and I was able to post a good score.”

Big Tie at 9-Under

Scheffler is part of a large tie at 9-under 63, including:

Jason Day (Australia) at the Stadium Course

Patrick Cantlay, Ben Griffin, Vince Whaley, Robert MacIntyre (Scotland), Si Woo Kim (South Korea) at the Nicklaus Tournament Course

S.H. Kim (South Korea) and Matt McCarty at La Quinta Country Club

Day’s 63 was the lowest score recorded at the Pete Dye Stadium Course, considered the most difficult of the three.

“Irons felt great, the short game felt good and I putted really nice today,” Day said. “Just got to work on the driver a little bit. Some of the drives were a little off. But overall I feel pretty solid.”

Other Notable Scores

Will Zalatoris, making his first start since the 2025 PGA Championship after back surgery, shot 7-under 65 at La Quinta Country Club.

Defending champion Sepp Straka of Austria shot an even-par 72 at La Quinta. -Field Level Media/Reuters