(Photo credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images)

Scottie Scheffler pulled away with a birdie spree in the final round of The American Express to win his first outing of 2026, shooting 6-under-par 66 in Sunday's final round at La Quinta, Calif.

That gave the world's No. 1 golfer a tournament total of 27-under 261 for a four-stroke victory on his way to winning on the PGA Tour for the 20th time.

The final round of this multiple-course tournament was played at the Pete Dye Stadium Course, where Scheffler recorded seven birdies and one bogey across the first 12 holes to break away from the pack.

Ryan Gerard (65), Matt McCarty (68), Andrew Putnam (68) and Australia's Jason Day (64) shared second place at 23 under.

Scheffler won six times in 2025 after racking up seven victories in 2024, so he could be on his way to another impressive season.

Scheffler, 29, became the first golfer to rise to the tour's 20-win mark since Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy achieved that number in 2021.

Scheffler led by three shots shortly after a birdie on No. 11 and tacked on birdies at Nos. 12 and 14. By then, among the top five on the leaderboard, only Putnam and Scheffler were still on the course.

Of Scheffler's first seven birdies, five required putts of less than 3 feet.

Until his tee shot on the par-3 17th hole ended up in the water and he took a double-bogey 5, Scheffler was bidding to become the first golfer in 16 years to reach 30 under in the tournament.

Third-round leader Si Woo Kim of South Korea shot 72 to finish tied for sixth place with Sam Stevens (67) at 22 under.

Blades Brown, 18, was bidding to become the second-youngest golfer to win a PGA Tour event, but his 74 left him in a tie for 18th place at 19 under.

Brown, Kim and Scheffler were playing in the final threesome. Brown had a 68 on the same course a day earlier.

Day's bogey-free round included four consecutive birdies (Nos. 5-8). His best round of the tournament was Thursday's 63, also on the Pete Dye Stadium Course.

--Field Level Media