Scottie Scheffler on Sunday earned his 20th victory on the PGA Tour in just his 151st career start. The world No. 1 looked the part in his season debut, overcoming a one-stroke deficit to Si Woo Kim at the 54-hole mark to enter the winner’s circle at the 2026 American Express.
Scheffler signed for a final-round 66 at Pete Dye’s Stadium Course, running away from the field. Reaching 27 under for the tournament, Scheffler’s margin of victory stood at four strokes over Jason Day, Ryan Gerard, Matt McCarty and Andrew Putnam, the latter of whom posed as his closest pursuer for much of the back nine on Sunday.
The win represents plenty in the context of Scheffler’s career. It is the earliest in the calendar year that he has won on the PGA Tour. It is also his seven win in his last 13 starts as he won six of the last 12 tournaments he played on the PGA Tour in 2025.
With the victory, Scheffler becomes the first player since Rory McIlroy at the 2021 CJ CUP to win 20 times on the PGA Tour; he’s the 40th in history to accomplish the feat.
Winning 20 times in 151 starts, Scheffler trails only Tiger Woods (95) and Jack Nicklaus (127) as the third-quickest ever to the key number. Scheffler also joins Woods and Nicklaus as the only players to emerge victorious in 20 PGA Tour events and four major championships before the age of 30.
Despite a nine-win campaign in 2024 that included seven PGA Tour victories, an Olympic gold medal and a successful defense at the Hero World Challenge — and a 2025 in which he won two major championships despite not raising a trophy until May amid an offseason hand injury — Scheffler appears primed to challenge if not surpass those efforts just 72 holes into his 2026 season.
One day after Scheffler struggled with his scoring clubs, he let the field know that he had righted those wrongs on the opening hole. Throwing a dart to 4 feet on the par-4 1st, he caught Kim immediately and never looked back. Scheffler kicked in four birdies from inside 5 feet across his first seven holes and added another from 10 feet before making the turn.
The same story continued to unravel on the inward half as Scheffler imposed his will. A birdie from 2 feet came on No. 11, another from 2 feet on the next and a driven wedge to a back pin location on No. 14 led to another conversion from 4 feet.
As the back nine progressed, it was no longer a question of whether Scheffler would win but rather how deep his margin would grow. As the year progresses, the question may turn from wondering which tournaments Scheffler will win to which he will not. Grade: A+
T2. Ryan Gerard (-23): Fresh off a runner-up finish at the Sony Open, Gerard kept his foot on the gas on the mainland. Stretching back to his start in Mauritius last fall on the DP World Tour, he now has three straight runner-up results. The confidence is continuing to snowball as the game makes one leap after another. While the bread and butter of his game is typically his ball striking, Gerard found success this week on and around the greens. He will win again this season, and it will likely come sooner than later. Grade: A
T6. Si Woo Kim (-22): The four-time PGA Tour winner looked up to the task in the early stages of the final round; Kim gave himself birdie chance after birdie chance on his front nine. He was well within range of Scheffler before disaster struck on the par-5 8th, where he made a mess around the green and made a double bogey without losing a golf ball. Some interesting decisions and the inability to cash in early chances proved to be Kim’s downfall, but this week proved that, when he putts well, he will position his name on the first page of the leaderboard given his current ball-striking acumen. Grade: B+
T18. Blades Brown (-19): Facing an opportunity to become the second-youngest winner on the PGA Tour, Brown acquitted himself nicely in the final group alongside Scheffler and Kim. He made an early birdie and appeared comfortable but made a fatal mistake when he found the water off the tee on the par-5 5th, leading to a double bogey. The 18-year-old was never able to recover from there, but the experience will prove beneficial as he continues to progress in his career. He battled tough but was unable to remain inside the top 10 and earn a spot in next week’s Farmers Insurance Open. Grade: A+
T18. Will Zalatoris (-19): In his first PGA Tour start since last spring’s PGA Championship, Zalatoris jumped out of the gate with a 7-under 65. The wiry right-hander continued to show promise in ball-striking areas, but in a tournament that requires piling up birdies, he was ultimately left in the dust ahead of his sizzling 64 on Sunday. There are a lot of positive signs to take from the week, as he was among the leaders in greens in regulation and strokes gained tee to green. That’s a recipe for success and one which Zalatoris has mastered throughout his career.
“Really good besides a couple holes on the Nicklaus Course,” Zalatoris said. “I putted really well, been working with Blair Phillips at home. It’s been a massive change taking ownership on the putting green, and I think, this year, you’re going to see a massive difference in my putting this year in general. Yeah, it’s nice to, any 64 on Sunday feels pretty good, especially after the last three years I’ve been through.” Grade: B
T18. Rickie Fowler (-19): Fowler quietly entered 2026 with a ton of momentum following his run in last season’s FedEx Cup Playoffs. Despite tinkering with his bag configuration and putting a new putter in place, the fan favorite did not miss a beat. After carding three bogeys at La Quinta Country Club on Thursday, Fowler played his final 54 holes in bogey-free fashion, including no squares on his scorecard across his two rounds at the more difficult Stadium Course. He may have some work to convert more scoring chances, but any time clean cards stack up, that’s a good thing. Grade: B-
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