Scottie Scheffler Demonstrates Why He’s the World’s Best

LA QUINTA, Calif. — In the end, the No. 1 player in the world looked and played just like the No. 1 player in the world. With the focus at the start of the day on an 18-year-old phenom and a past champion of the tournament, Scottie Scheffler grabbed The American Express by the back of the neck midway through the final round and ran away for his 20th PGA Tour victory in convincing fashion. Even a shocking tee shot into the water short of the island green on the par-3 17th couldn’t slow Scheffler’s march to a 6-under 66 on the Pete Dye Stadium Course, taking him from a shot out of the lead to a four-shot victory.

The double bogey on the 17th dropped Scheffler to 27-under 261, two shots short of the event’s 72-hole scoring record. Four players, Andrew Putnam, Ryan Gerard, Matt McCarty and Jason Day, tied for second at 23 under. Scheffler takes home $1.656 million for the win at the $9.2 million event.

A Battle That Never Happened

The day set up as a battle between Scheffler and 18-year-old Blades Brown, also a shot back of 2021 tournament winner Si Woo Kim to start the day. But as Scheffler relentlessly grinded for the kind of round a world No. 1 is expected to produce, Brown stumbled to a double bogey on the par-5 fifth hole, then made eight consecutive pars to fall out of the tournament’s top 10. Brown was playing his eighth competitive round of golf in eight days, having played in the Korn Ferry Tour event in the Bahamas from Sunday to Wednesday before teeing off in La Quinta on Thursday.

“I think you got to go out there, and there’s a reason we play the tournament. There’s a reason why we have to finish off the tournament. You don’t get awarded the trophy on the 16th hole. You got to finish the tournament,” Scheffler said. “I was going against two guys today in the final group that are really, really talented players. Si Woo has so much talent. He’s so good at golf. Then Blades, this is my first time seeing him, but anybody at 18 years old that can make it into the final pairing of a PGA Tour event’s doing something right. And then there was plenty of other guys behind us chasing us. And it’s a course where you got to go out there and make birdies. So there was a lot of challenges today, but I’m proud of the way we played and put up a nice round.”

Kim also fell back at the end of the front nine with two bogeys and a double bogey on the par-5 eighth. Scheffler meanwhile made four birdies in a five-hole stretch starting with a kick-in birdie on the par-3 fourth hole. That left Scheffler in the lead holding off chasers like Putnam, Gerard and Day. But each time one of those players pulled within a shot or two, Scheffler threw a dart at another pin and made another birdie.

A Dominant Performance

While Putnam bogeyed the 10th and 12th holes and Gerard put his tee shot into the water on the par 3 17th, Scheffler made short birdie putts on the 11th, 12th and 14th holes to open a five-shot lead. The round was also a comfortable one for Scheffler, with birdies on all four of the par-5s on the course and all eight birdies coming from inside of five feet.

The dominating victory in his season debut continued to cement Scheffler’s spot as the best player in the game today, but also helps him continue to build a legacy of greatness. His 20th win comes in his 151st start, second only to Tiger Woods (95 events). He is now the 40th player to win 20 times on tour and is tied for 36th on the PGA Tour’s all-time wins list. Scheffler also passes $100 million in career earnings, and he has done it all before his 30th birthday.

A Historic Win

It is also the first time that a player ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking has won The American Express title since those rankings began in 1986.

Day had the best day of the chasers with a 64, while Gerard shot 65. Putnam, who shot a 60 in the second round of the event at La Quinta Country Club, actually tied Scheffler at 24 under with a birdie on the ninth hole. But Putnam managed just a 1-over 37 on the back nine for an overall 68, the same score McCarty shot.

Brown, needing to finish in the top 10 to qualify for the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego next week, instead finished tied for 18th with a round of 74, including a 3-putt bogey on the final hole. That round included a tee shot into a lake on the par-5 fifth hole that led to a double bogey. Still, Brown felt the day and walking with Scheffler was beneficial.

“I could probably write a book about what I’ve learned these past couple of days,” Brown said. “Just knowing that I can compete out here. It was so cool watching Scottie win in person and getting to play with him. He’s such an unbelievable guy. He talked to me numerous times throughout the round and was giving me a lot of encouragement, so it was awesome.”