Saturday at the 2026 American Express saw the breeze pick up for the first time all week, which slowed some of the scoring barrage from the first 36 holes in La Quinta, California. That was apparent at the top of the leaderboard, where Scottie Scheffler — fresh off rounds of 63 and 64 — faced the stronger test of the Stadium Course at PGA West and shot a 4-under 68 to enter the final round at 20 under.
Scheffler made his first bogey of the week on the 3rd, adding another square to the card on the back nine. It looked like he would drop another shot on the 18th after a poor approach from the fairway and a chip that got away from him, but he poured in a 25-footer to hold onto a share of second and keep himself in the penultimate group on Sunday.
Scheffler’s gritty par at the last keeps him just one shot back of Si Woo Kim, who posted a 66 at La Quinta Country Club to surge ahead of the world No. 1 and into the solo lead at 22 under. Kim strung together three straight birdies on his back nine late in the afternoon, taking advantage of calmer conditions to make a move to the top of the leaderboard.
Joining Scheffler at 21 under is 18-year-old Blade Brown, who shot a 68 of his own at the Stadium Course to head into the final round where he started the day — tied with the Texan. Brown, fresh off a 60 on Saturday, managed to stay patient on the tougher course in tougher conditions, and he will now get his first taste of a Sunday in contention at a PGA Tour event.
“Just staying level,” Brown said when asked what he did best on Saturday. “There’s so many emotions that you go through in a round. I was 1 under through 15 holes, and I knew that there were some guys coming up the leaderboard that were going to make a run. I tried to put myself in as many birdie positions as possible and happened to make three coming down the stretch.”
That trio will headline Sunday’s final round at the Stadium Course, as the field gets trimmed to the top 60 and ties with the pros no longer stuck in foursomes with amateur partners. Brown and Kim will play together in the final pairing with Scheffler hot on their heels in the penultimate group, looking to apply pressure from a hole ahead all afternoon.
Leader
1. Si Woo Kim (-22): Kim became a bit of the forgotten man on Friday despite a blistering 63-65 start to his week, as much of the focus shifted to Brown’s performance in nearly shooting 59 and Scheffler’s presence on top of the leaderboard. However, Kim has been the most steady performer this week, shooting a 66 or better in all three rounds. He’s proven over his career that he can take it deep when he feels good. That’s certainly been the case this week, and the courses in the rotation at the American Express have played into his aggressive style. His ball-striking combined with a hot putter make him a real threat, and if there’s one thing we can count on, it’s that he won’t start playing conservatively on Sunday to protect the lead.
Contenders
T2. Scottie Scheffler, Blades Brown (-21)
T4. Eric Cole, Wyndham Clark (-20)
T6. Tom Hoge, Matt McCarty, Andrew Putnam (-19)
9. J.T. Poston (-18)
T10. Patrick Cantlay and four others (-17)
Scheffler is still the favorite despite being a shot back of Kim, and it felt like his 68 on Saturday at the Stadium Course came with him playing about as poorly as possible. That should set the bar for what we’ll see in the final round, pending winds really picking up. Kim, Brown and everyone else in the chase group should be thinking 25 under is about the minimum they’ll need if they aim to beat Scheffler.
Brown’s story this week is incredible as he’s about to play his eighth straight competitive round of golf after finishing in the top 20 at a Korn Ferry Tour event in the Bahamas earlier this week. It helps to be 18 years old and able to recover quickly, but Brown’s mental approach has been particularly impressive. His patience on Saturday paid off with a hot finish, and while he’ll have to manage new nerves on Sunday, nothing about his performance to this point suggests he won’t embrace the moment.
Beyond the top three, Clark is the most threatening name of the chase pack. He played his best round of the week on the Stadium Course on Friday and appears to be back in form after a down year in 2025. He kept things on track with a 66 on Saturday and will be looking to notch his first win in more than a year.
Notable names to miss the cut
- Chris Kirk (-9)
- Will Zalatoris (-9)
- Tony Finau (-9)
- Justin Rose (-8)
- Brian Harman (-7)
- Sepp Straka (-2)
- Akshay Bhatia (-1)
- Ludvig Åberg (WD — Illness)
2026 American Express updated odds, picks
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
- Scottie Scheffler (+100)
- Si Woo Kim (+200)
- Blades Brown (+800)
- Wyndham Clark (+1100)
- Eric Cole (+1700)
Schefter’s presence one shot off the lead lengthens the odds significantly of those trying to chase down the leaders on Sunday. The best value on the board at this point has to be Clark, who has the gears needed to post a low enough score to win and seems to be extremely comfortable at the Stadium Course. I liked him as a threat to win on Friday, and nothing about his performance on Saturday changed my mind that he’s going to be in the mix all the way til the end.
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