GOLF: Scottie Scheffler lands 20th PGA Tour win at The American Express

Far be it for Scottie Scheffler to ease into another golf season.

The world No. 1 golfer surged ahead with a birdie spree in the final round of The American Express, winning his first outing of 2026. Scheffler shot a 6-under-par 66 in Sunday’s final round at La Quinta, California.

His impressive finish gave him a tournament total of 27-under 261, securing a four-stroke victory and marking his 20th win on the PGA Tour.

“It’s pretty wild,” Scheffler said. “It has been a great start to my career and I’ve had some nice wins out there. It has been special and I try not to think about that stuff too much.”

The final round of this multi-course tournament was played at the Pete Dye Stadium Course. Scheffler recorded seven birdies and one bogey across the first 12 holes, allowing him to break away from the rest of the field.

Ryan Gerard (65), Matt McCarty (68), Andrew Putnam (68) and Australia’s Jason Day (64) finished tied for second place at 23-under.

Scheffler, who won six times in 2025 after capturing seven victories in 2024, looks poised for another outstanding season. This was his first win in a season debut.

“Going into the season, I was just trying to do the things I needed to do in order to be prepared to come out and play this week,” Scheffler said. “I’m going to go home, get some rest and kind of rinse and repeat.”

At 29, Scheffler became the first golfer to reach 20 PGA Tour wins since Rory McIlroy achieved the milestone in 2021. He is also the third-youngest player to reach 20 victories, behind only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

The win came in his 151st tournament, making him the third-fastest player to reach 20 wins, after Woods (95) and Nicklaus (127).

Scheffler extended his lead with a birdie on No. 11 and added more birdies on Nos. 12 and 14. By that point, only Scheffler and Putnam remained on the course among the top five players.

Five of Scheffler’s first seven birdies came from putts under 3 feet.

He was aiming to become the first golfer in 16 years to reach 30 under in the tournament until his tee shot on the par-3 17th landed in the water, resulting in a double-bogey 5.

Scheffler said his next event will be the WM Phoenix Open in two weeks.

Third-round leader Si Woo Kim of South Korea shot 72 and finished tied for sixth at 22-under, along with Sam Stevens (67).

Eighteen-year-old Blades Brown was in contention to become the second-youngest PGA Tour winner, but his final-round 74 left him tied for 18th at 19-under.

Brown, Kim and Scheffler played in the final threesome. Brown had shot a 68 on the same course the previous day.

“One of the coolest things that I learned today was how underrated Scottie Scheffler’s short game is,” Brown said. “To see it in person and just to look at the trajectory and the spin, and just the control that he has with his wedges and short game. Obviously, his putting is insane, too. It was really cool to watch.”

Brown’s performance became a major storyline at the tournament. He flirted with a 59 on Friday before signing for a 60. His T18 finish was the best of his young PGA career.

“I have so much to take away from this week,” Brown said. “Getting to play with Scottie Scheffler in a final group at 18 years old, I had to pinch myself a couple of times just to make sure this was real. Not the Sunday that I would have liked, but overall, I had so much fun playing The American Express this week.”

— Field Level Media/Reuters