Scottie Scheffler steered clear of wine glasses when helping with Christmas dinner this year.
That joke was surely going around the PGA West resort in La Quinta, Calif., as the No. 1 player in the world arrived for The American Express, his 2026 PGA Tour season debut.
Scheffler’s 2025 season got off to a delayed start after he injured his hand on Christmas 2024, when a wine glass shattered while he was using it to shape ravioli for dinner. Among other tournaments, he missed The American Express in the Palm Desert region of California.
When you’re on a long hot streak like Scheffler has been since 2022, you don’t need to make many changes to your approach. Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Scheffler said he treated his offseason the same as usual.
“I had a few extra weeks off this year, and fortunately it wasn’t due to injury, just the start of the year started a little bit later for me,” Scheffler said. “Overall, no, things I would say were pretty similar for me in the offseason.”
This time, his season is starting later because of how the PGA calendar worked out.
The normal season opener, The Sentry, was cancelled due to drought conditions on Maui. So Scheffler didn’t fly to Hawaii, skipping last week’s Sony Open in Honolulu in favor of the California swing.
It beats his hometown of Dallas, which has snow in the forecast this week.
“I saw it’s going to snow in Dallas this week, so definitely glad to be here wearing shorts and a shirt,” Scheffler said. “… I think the tournament’s really well run. I think they do a good job of taking care of us. It’s a nice week for my family and me to enjoy some good weather, and play some competitive golf, and kind of get a gauge of where I’m at to start the year.”
When the PGA Tour last saw Scheffler, he was on another incredible streak of success, finishing in the top 10 in his final 15 starts of the 2025 season with six wins, including two majors. He also tied for fourth at Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event, in December.
After some time off, Scheffler is eager to see where his game stands, but don’t mistake that for playing his way into shape.
“I definitely don’t show up to tournaments trying to get my game into shape,” he said. “I like to be prepared, and that’s something that I pride myself on. So I like to say that’s a good gauge, just because it’s different being in competition I think than practicing at home. You can do your best to simulate it, but I don’t think there’s anything like coming out here and playing and posting a 72-hole score.
“Tournament golf’s always just a bit different. You can prepare as hard as you can, but sometimes you do have to shake off a little bit of competitive rust just from an extended break.”
