Scottie Scheffler will participate in the American Express Championship at the end of January, marking his debut in 2026.
Scottie Scheffler will make his first start of 2026 at the PGA Tour’s American Express Championship, tournament organizers confirmed Wednesday. The event will take place from January 22 to 25 in La Quinta, California, with total prize money amounting to $9,200,000. Last year, Austrian Sepp Straka won the tournament.
Scheffler Faces a Tough Challenge in California
The American Express Championship is one of the few events missing from Scheffler’s list of wins. After finishing third in 2020, he placed within the top 25 in subsequent years but missed the 2025 tournament due to a hand surgery. Competition will be strong this year with players such as last year’s winner Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin, and Robert MacIntyre among those who could challenge the world number one.
The tournament is the PGA Tour’s second event of the year following the Sony Open in Hawaii next week. The usual season opener, The Sentry, was canceled in October due to course conditions affected by drought in Kapalua.
Will Scottie Scheffler Kick Off Another Outstanding Season?
Scheffler aims to start the new season strong at the American Express Championship to build on his successes from last year. In 20 tournaments, he achieved six wins, including victories at the PGA Championship and The Open Championship. Additionally, he finished in the top 10 in 17 of those events and did not finish outside the top 25 in any tournament. These results earned him the PGA Tour Player of the Year award for the fourth consecutive time.
With two major titles in 2025, Scheffler has a clear goal for 2026. After winning the Masters in 2022 and 2024, the American now only needs the US Open to complete his Career Grand Slam. He will compete for the title from June 18 to 21 at the US Open.