How The American Express became turning point in Scottie Scheffler’s career

Scottie Scheffler has made The American Express an annual part of his schedule since his rookie year on the PGA TOUR. He likes that the California desert usually offers calm conditions and warm temperatures, allowing him to not only escape the cold of a Dallas winter but equally gauge the state of his game early in the calendar year.

“It's a great place to get some work in, kind of get the season started,” Scheffler said Wednesday. “It's a great place to practice and prepare. The event's fun. The pro-am aspect is fun. I've had some good partners over the years that I've enjoyed playing with. It's just a fun event for us to come play and compete. The golf courses are always in great shape. The weather's typically pretty good. It's a fun week to start the year.”

Four years ago, in his debut at this event, Scheffler held the first 54-hole lead of his career. He shot a final-round 70 to finish third. The first Sunday lead of a player’s career is always an important milestone, but it was another experience at this event two years later that helped Scheffler become the player he is today, the world No. 1 and winner of the past two PGA TOUR Player of the Year Awards. Many players’ careers contain these tiny turning points, moments that may feel insignificant at the time but lead to bigger and better things.

That’s what the third round of The American Express in 2022 was for Scheffler. He was three shots outside the cut line with three holes remaining in his round (the tournament has a 54-hole cut because it uses three courses). He chipped in for eagle on 16 and then made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to make the cut without a shot to spare.

He finished T25 after shooting a final-round 67. He went on to earn his first PGA TOUR title two starts later, then won three more titles in quick order, including the Masters, to ascend to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

“I went out on Sunday and had a really good round,” Scheffler said Wednesday about the 2022 American Express. “I finished 20th or 25th, something like that. Then, after that, it kind of jump-started the rest of my year. I think I played Torrey Pines the next week, and won in Phoenix a couple weeks after that, and kind of started my run there in 2022.”