The $9.2 million The American Express PGA tournament was set to begin Thursday at three courses in La Quinta with 13 of the top 30 players in the Official World Golf Ranking in the field of 156, including Scottie Scheffler, who has been ranked first since May 21, 2023.
Scheffler has been the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year for four consecutive years, joining Tiger Woods as the only players to have won the award for at least four consecutive years. Woods won the award each year from 1999 to 2003. It has been presented annually since 1990.
The American is returning to The American Express after a one-year absence. He wasn’t able to start his season until its fifth week after injuring his right hand on a broken glass preparing Christmas dinner.
Scheffler had a PGA Tour-best six victories in 2025, including two majors — the PGA Championship and British Open. He ranked first in scoring average in Round 1 (67.45), Round 2 (68), Round 3 (68.40) and Round 4 (68.10) in 2025, becoming the first player since Tiger Woods in 2000 to lead the tour in all four categories in a single season.
The American Express marks the start of Scheffler’s season.
“I love playing this event to start,” Scheffler said at a news conference Tuesday. “You get to come here, kind of see where your game’s at. You get a good gauge of where you’re at just based upon you’re not really playing in so many conditions, and you got to be sharp around this place in order to make enough birdies to compete.”
This will be the sixth time Scheffler has played in The American Express. His best finish came the first time he played in the tournament, 2020, finishing third after holding a share of the 36- and 54-hole lead. He tied for 17th in his most recent appearance in 2024.
Scheffler is the 17-5 pre-tournament favorite according to FanDuel, an official betting operator of the PGA Tour.
Sepp Straka, a 32-year-old Austrian who played at the University of Georgia, will attempt to become the first player to win The American Express in consecutive years since Johnny Miller in 1976. He is the co-10th choice at 35-1.
Competitors rotate the first three rounds between PGA West’s Pete Dye Stadium Course, the Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club. Each professional will be grouped with amateurs for the first three rounds.
The field will be reduced to the low 65 professionals and ties following the conclusion of the third round. Sunday’s final round will be played at the Pete Dye Stadium Course. The winner will receive $1.66 million.
Since The American Express became a 72-hole event in 2012, the winner’s margin of victory has not been more than two strokes in any year.
The tournament will be televised daily through Sunday from 1-4 p.m. on Golf Channel. Additional coverage will be streamed on the ESPN+ streaming service from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. daily through Sunday.
The country band Old Dominion will perform a concert on the PGA West Stadium Course driving range following conclusion of play Friday. The pop rock band OneRepublic, will perform a concert at the same site following conclusion of play Saturday.
All Friday and Saturday tournament tickets include admission to the concerts. There are no concert-only tickets.
The concert area on the Pete Dye Stadium Course driving range will open to spectators at 4 p.m., with the concerts expected to start at approximately 5 p.m. Chairs and blankets will only be allowed in designated areas.