Scottie Scheffler will participate in the American Express Championship at the end of January, marking his 2026 season debut.
Scottie Scheffler will compete for the first time in 2026 at the PGA Tour’s American Express Championship, tournament organizers confirmed on Wednesday. The event takes place from January 22 to 25 in La Quinta, California, with a total purse of $9.2 million. Last year, Austrian Sepp Straka won the tournament.
Scheffler Faces Tough Challenge in California
The American Express Championship is one of the few tournaments missing from Scheffler’s victory portfolio. After finishing third in 2020, he placed in the top 25 in subsequent years before missing the 2025 event due to hand surgery. The competition will be fierce this year with players like reigning champion Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin, and Robert MacIntyre posing potential challenges for the world number one.
This tournament is the second PGA Tour event of the year following next week’s Sony Open in Hawaii. The usual season opener, The Sentry, was canceled in October due to course conditions at drought-stricken Kapalua.
Will Scottie Scheffler Continue His Outstanding Season?
Scheffler aims to start his new season strong at the American Express Championship, building on last year’s success. In 20 tournaments last year, he won six times including two major titles at the PGA Championship and The Open Championship. He finished in the top 10 in 17 events and never outside the top 25, achievements that earned him the PGA Tour Player of the Year award for the fourth consecutive time.
With his two major titles in 2025, Scheffler now has a clear goal for 2026: complete his Career Grand Slam by winning the U.S. Open, which he will compete for from June 18 to 21.