Scottie Scheffler will participate in the American Express Championship at the end of January, marking his 2026 debut.
Scottie Scheffler will start for the first time in 2026 at the PGA Tour’s American Express Championship, as confirmed by the tournament organizers on Wednesday. The event takes place from January 22 to 25 in La Quinta, California, with a total prize purse of $9.2 million. Last year, Austrian Sepp Straka took the title.
Scheffler Faces Tough Challenge in California
The American Express Championship is one of the few tournaments still missing from Scheffler’s victory list. After finishing third in 2020, he placed in the top 25 in the following years before missing the 2025 event due to hand surgery. However, the competition this year is strong, with players like reigning champion Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin, and Robert MacIntyre expected to challenge the world number one.
The tournament is the second PGA Tour event of the year after next week’s Sony Open in Hawaii. The usual season opener, The Sentry, was canceled in October due to course conditions at the drought-affected Kapalua.
Will This Be Another Outstanding Season for Scottie Scheffler?
Scheffler aims to start the new season strong at the American Express Championship to build on last year’s successes. In 20 tournaments, he won six times, including victories at the PGA Championship and the Open Championship. He also finished in the top 10 in 17 of his 20 events and never finished outside the top 25. These achievements 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. After winning the Masters in 2022 and 2024, the American still needs the US Open to complete his Career Grand Slam. He will compete for that title from June 18 to 21.