The World No. 1 is back, and the Coachella Valley is ready for a shootout
The PGA Tour heads to the California desert this week for The American Express, and if you’re looking for birdies, eagles and red numbers, you’ve come to the right place. This tournament has become synonymous with scoring, and with perhaps the strongest field in event history descending on La Quinta, we’re in for a treat.
Leading the charge is Scottie Scheffler, making his first start of 2026 at the very event he was supposed to begin 2025 at before a Christmas ravioli incident left him with a hand injury. The world No. 1 and reigning four-time PGA Tour Player of the Year returns healthy and hungry, fresh off a T4 at the Hero World Challenge in December.
A Place Built for Fireworks
The American Express remains one of the most unique stops on the PGA Tour calendar. Players will rotate through three courses for the first three rounds: Pete Dye’s Stadium Course at PGA WEST, the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA WEST and La Quinta Country Club. Each professional will be paired with amateurs throughout this stretch before the field is cut to the low 65 players and ties for Sunday’s finale, played exclusively on the Stadium Course.
This is golf in a dome, as they say in the Coachella Valley. Chamber of Commerce weather is the expectation, with minimal wind forecast for most of the week. That means one thing: go low or go home.
The winning score at The American Express hasn’t dipped below 20 under par in the event’s history. Last year, Sepp Straka captured his third PGA Tour title at 25 under, holding off Justin Thomas by two strokes. The Austrian went bogey-free until the 70th hole of the tournament, a remarkable display of consistency on three player-friendly tracks.
Scheffler’s Desert History
While Scheffler enters as the favorite, his track record at PGA WEST is surprisingly modest for a player of his caliber. In five starts, he owns just one top-10 finish: a solo third on debut in 2020 when he shared the 36-hole and 54-hole leads before settling for third place.
But that was a different Scottie Scheffler. The 29-year-old Texan has since become the most dominant force in golf, winning 13 times in the last three seasons, including six victories in 2025. He led the TOUR in scoring average in all four rounds last season, becoming the first player since Tiger Woods in 2000 to accomplish that feat.
If Scheffler can find his rhythm on these generous desert tracks, he could become the first player since Woods to earn 20 PGA Tour wins before turning 30. Woods achieved that milestone at the 2000 U.S. Open at age 24.
The Defending Champion’s Quest
Sepp Straka will attempt to join Johnny Miller as the only players to win The American Express in back-to-back years. Miller accomplished the feat in 1974-75, and it hasn’t been done since in the tournament’s past 66-year history.
Straka arrives in solid form after a solo third at the Hero World Challenge, where he shook off the rust following the offseason. The Austrian has proven he can dominate these courses, shooting 10 under par on the Stadium Course last year, including a 64 that tied for the best of the week.
His formula was simple: hit greens and make putts. Straka led the field in par-3 scoring and co-led in both birdies (27) and greens in regulation. In a shootout like this, that’s the recipe for success.
Fresh Faces and Familiar Contenders
The field features several intriguing storylines beyond Scheffler and Straka. Will Zalatoris makes his first PGA Tour start since the PGA Championship in May, returning from back surgery that addressed two re-herniated discs. The 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship winner has battled injuries for much of the last three seasons but showed promise with a 15th-place finish at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in December.
Adam Scott makes his tournament debut at age 44, playing on the final year of his exemption. The 14-time Tour winner endured a difficult 2025 season without a single top-10 finish, but his ball-striking prowess could shine on these wide-open desert layouts.
Matt Fitzpatrick also makes his American Express debut riding a hot streak. The Englishman won the DP World Tour Championship for the third time in November, knocking off Rory McIlroy in a playoff. He finished 2025 with four top-6 results in his final six worldwide starts.
The Horses for the Courses
Patrick Cantlay continues his pursuit of a first victory at PGA WEST, where he’s been tantalizingly close. The Southern California native set the tournament course record with a 61 in 2021 but fell one shot short of forcing a playoff. In six trips, he’s earned four top-10 finishes and has never posted a 72-hole aggregate worse than 15 under par when completing all four rounds.
Sam Burns owns an even better track record than his best friend Scheffler at this event. The five-time Tour winner has posted four results of T18 or better in six starts, including a pair of T6 finishes. His red-hot putter is tailor-made for weeks like this.
Robert MacIntyre arrives with momentum after closing the Sony Open with a field-low 63 on Sunday. The Scotsman was frustrated with his attitude during the middle rounds in Hawaii, even admitting he snapped his putter after missing a 3-footer on Friday. But his closing surge extended his streak of top-12 finishes worldwide to five.
The Course Setup
The recent renovation of the Stadium Course has separated it from its co-hosts in terms of difficulty. In its debut under ideal conditions last year, the new setup yielded a scoring average of 71.348, more than two strokes harder than each of the previous two editions. Meanwhile, the Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta checked in at 68.248 and 68.595, respectively.
All three courses are overseeded as expected, with greens running around 11-12 feet on the Stimpmeter as a nod to the amateur participants. The rough shouldn’t exceed 2 inches at its worst. Translation: hit it in the fairway, hit the green, make putts, repeat.
What to Watch
Beyond the battle for the trophy, keep an eye on the Aon Swing 5 race. The American Express is the second of four events where players can earn points toward spots in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Patrick Rodgers leads the standings after his solo third in Hawaii, followed by Lee Hodges and Davis Riley.
This week should provide the perfect antidote to winter blues: sunshine, low scores and the world’s best players attacking flagsticks with reckless abandon. Scheffler’s return adds star power to an already loaded field, and with conditions ripe for scoring, we could see some fireworks in the desert.
The American Express has always been about going low and having fun. This year’s edition promises plenty of both.