The world No. 1 started his year off with a dominant victory and again put himself in the same conversation with Tiger Woods.
On a much, much lighter scale, the American Express had a 1962 U.S. Open vibe entering the final round. Fast forward to 2026 at the PGA West Pete Dye Stadium Course in Palm Springs, Calif., where 18-year-old phenom Blades Brown,, found himself in the final pairing with world No.
1 Scottie Scheffler . Unlike Nicklaus at Oakmont, though, David couldn’t slay Goliath. Scheffler—again—proved that he belongs in the conversation with Nicklaus, Palmer, Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan, starting his year with a victory in ease, his 14th on Tour in the last two years and 20th overall, securing him a lifetime PGA Tour membership. Scheffler, with a final-round 66, finished at 27 under par for a four-stroke triumph over Jason Day, Andrew Putnam, Ryan Gerard and Matt MaCarty, while Brown shot a Sunday 74 to place T18.He reached 20 wins in the second-fewest starts ever , behind only Woods. The 29-year-old also joins Woods as the second player to win 20 times before age 30. Plus, he’s now with Woods and Nicklaus as the only players to win four or more majors and 20 wins before turning 30, and sits with Woods and Rory McIlroy as the only names to crack $100 million in career earnings. Despite a bogey on his second hole, Scheffler separated himself from the pack on one of the Tour’s birdie-fest layouts by shooting 4 under on the front. The back? He was 4 under on Nos. 10 through 16, before splashing his tee shot on the Stadium Course’s par-3 17th. Still, a double bogey added no suspense; Scheffler’s lead dipped to four. It did, however, prevent him from having a chance to break the tournament’s scoring record . Statistically, Scheffler was a ball-striking machine, per usual. He ranked fourth in the field in both strokes-gained total and strokes-gained off the tee and third in driving distance , with his lowest category this week being driving accuracy, in which he was T56 in the field . Brown, meanwhile, rinsed his tee shot on the par-5 5th en route to a double bogey and never regained his momentum. Perhaps, he was burned out, having played eight rounds in eight days . Yet, there are still lessons from his time in the desert. “I have so much to take away from this week,” he said. “Getting to play with Scottie Scheffler in the final group at 18 years old is—I had to pinch myself couple of times just to make sure I was, you know, this was real. Not the Sunday that I would have liked, but I overall had so much fun playing the American Express.” Maybe one day, Brown will get his Nicklaus-esque moment. For now, though, it’s Scheffler at the top, a steep drop off, and then everyone else.Max Schreiber is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, covering golf. Before joining SI in October 2024, the Mahwah, N.J., native, worked as an associate editor for the Golf Channel and wrote for RyderCup.com and FanSided. He is a multiplatform producer for Newsday and has a bachelor's in communications and journalism from Quinnipiac University. In his free time, you can find him doing anything regarding the Yankees, Giants, Knicks and Islanders.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Teenager Nearly Shoots 59 at American Express, Co-Leads with Scottie SchefflerBlades Brown was inches away from shooting the PGA Tour's 16th-ever sub-60 round, but more history is on the line for the phenom after a whirlwind week.
Read more »
Teenager Blades Brown narrowly misses a 59. He's tied for American Express lead with SchefflerScottie Scheffler is No. 1 in the world and tied for the lead at The American Express
Read more »
Teenager Blades Brown shoots 60, tied with Scheffler at American ExpressScottie Scheffler is No. 1 in the world and tied for the lead at The American Express. And that's not what caused the big buzz. Blades Brown was 6 feet away from becoming the youngest player to shoot 59 on the PGA Tour. The 18-year-old narrowly missed. He settled for a career-low 60 on Friday and is tied with Scheffler going into the weekend.
Read more »
18-year-old Blades Brown tied for lead at The American Express with Scottie Scheffler after incredible roundBrown earned Korn Ferry Tour status last year and was in the Bahamas for a tournament that didn’t end until Wednesday.
Read more »
How to bet the American Express: Best bets, DFS tips and moreThe second stop of the PGA Tour brings us short, scorable courses and Scottie Scheffler's first start.
Read more »
Si Woo Kim handles the wind and leads Scheffler and teenager Blades Brown by 1 shotSi Woo Kim has the lead at The American Express. One shot behind are world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and 18-year-old Blades Brown. Scheffler had to make a 25-foot par save on the final hole for his 68 at the Stadium Course at PGA West. Brown ended his round on the same course by making three straight birdies for a 68. All but forgotten was Kim.
Read more »