Scottie Scheffler kicked off his 2026 season with a win at the 2026 American Express. Four golfers tied for second at 23-under, four-shots behind Scheffler.
Starting the day one shot back of leader Si Woo Kim, Scheffler quickly applied pressure by making birdie on the first hole. Kim struggled on the front nine, shooting a 3-over-39 to open the door for others.
Scheffler took control of the tournament during a six-hole stretch where he made four birdies. He extended his lead to six with a birdie on the 16th hole before hitting his tee shot on the 17th hole into the water. He made a double bogey to head to the 18th hole with a four-shot lead. His par on the last hole secured his second win in a row in California, having also won the 2025 Procore Championship.
With his 20th career win, he joins Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win 20-plus times on the PGA Tour, including four or more majors before the age of 30. It took Scheffler 151 career starts to win 20 times, which is the third fewest behind Woods (95) and Nicklaus (127).
Also of note is Ryan Gerard’s continued strong play over the last two months. In his last three worldwide starts, he has finished second in all of them. He shot a final round 65 to move up 13 spots on the leaderboard.
18-year-old Blades Brown shot a 12-under-60 during his round on Friday after coming off a Korn Ferry Tour event last week that finished on Wednesday. He hopped on a plane and flew to Palm Springs to make his 10th career PGA Tour start. His T18 finish is the best finish in his limited PGA Tour starts.
The next stop on the PGA Tour is San Diego, California, for the Farmers Insurance Open. Harris English will look to defend his title against a field that includes Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Jason Day. Brooks Koepka will be making his first non-major PGA Tour start since the Dell Technologies Match Play event in March of 2022.
