Scheffler – Golfing Networks

Scottie Scheffler hits into the water. Then comes some words

admin — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 06:23:47 +0000

Scottie Scheffler says his swing was good.

But ensuing drop-zone shots aren’t, which led the world No. 1 to vent during Thursday’s first round of the Memorial Tournament — and many of his thoughts were picked up by Golf Channel and PGA Tour Live mics. The comments came on Muirfield Village Golf Club’s par-3 16th hole, where Scheffler’s tee shot found the water to the left of the green, despite him believing he had made clean contact.

Words then followed. Most were voiced toward caddie Ted Scott, and the conversation centered around misjudging the wind.

“I never thought that I was in the water,” Scheffler said from the tee box as Scott started to walk ahead. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t hear a word you’re saying.”

“I feel like that was a good shot,” Scheffler said as he started to walk toward the drop zone. “Now I’m in the water. Because it came in out of the right. Absolutely flushed a 7-iron and we get the wind wrong, and I end up in the water. I don’t think you understand how frustrating that is. I thought it was a good shot. It really was. … Golly.”

“I liked that shot,” Scheffler said at the drop zone. “I don’t understand what I’m meant to do. I don’t understand. I really don’t. I mean, it was five yards short of the green, flushed 7-iron, because it’s into off the right. Like there’s no way it could curve that much. … It’s so frustrating. … I’m hitting good shots and dropping. We cannot get the wind wrong.”

From the drop zone, Scheffler then hit to 10 feet, and he two-putted from there for a double bogey. The conversation between Scheffler and Scott continued on the walk to the green, and briefly on the walk off of it. On the Golf Channel broadcast, analyst Curt Byrum said that “sometimes being a good Tour caddie is being able to just take the abuse the player is going to give you, take the shrapnel that’s coming your way. … And Teddy Scott has been there a million times.”

As for whom to blame, a caddie can advise, but the player, of course, hits the shot. Afterward, a reporter asked Scheffler for his thoughts on the 16th.

“That’s just another really good iron shot, and the wind switched from down off the right to pretty significantly in off the right,” he said. “If it’s down off the right, that ball’s probably where I hit my wedge shot to. So just don’t really know what I’m supposed to do there outside of trying to hit a good shot, and then it’s frustrating when it doesn’t work out, especially when it doesn’t work out in that direction.

“I would rather get gusted in off the left, not in off the right there. All you can do is just try to hit good shots. It can be very frustrating sometimes when you feel like you’re hitting good shots and then you’re going to the drop zone.”

Was Scheffler hitting good shots on Thursday and not getting the results he was expecting?

“Yeah, that’s how it felt,” he said. “Yeah, the wind is just hard to predict. It’s just hard to predict. When it gets gusty and then greens are this firm — I mean, 12’s a good example, too, where you can’t — like, you have two or three yards where you can actually hold that green, especially with how firm they were getting.

“Eleven’s a good example too because if I hit 4-iron and it’s straight across, if I land pin high, I’m going to go over the green in the rough. Five-iron’s tough because when the wind’s going like this and this, I could end up 15, 20 yards short of the green in the rough, and then you bring water into play.

“So there’s a lot you got to think about, and I think it gets even more challenging when the greens are this firm and the wind is unpredictable, especially on a day where the wind felt like it was going to be lighter and it was for most of the day, which is — I think it just shows kind of how tough the golf course is.”

After 16, Scheffler birdied 17 and parred 18, and he finished with a one-over 73, which was six back of the lead. On the birdie, Scheffler caught a break when his second shot, from the right fairway bunker, kicked to a favorable position just off the right side of the green — and from there, Scheffler chipped in.

“Got a good break there,” Scheffler said. “That was fun. That was good. Good breaks are more fun than — that one — see, that’s the thing that can be so frustrating about golf is I striped one on the hole before that and I end up in the water. That one I kind of hit thin, and you get a good bounce and I end up on the fringe and I chip in. Look, it’s always a touch thin out of the bunker, but I was trying to hit it a little higher so I could hold the green. And then that one lands in the rough just over the bunker, which is also dead, that bunker, and ended up chipping one in. So you’re just like, all right.

“Yeah, what a game. I felt like I didn’t get anything out of the round, all of a sudden you just get a lucky bounce and you’re like, OK, well, I’m going to try to smile, it’s still hard.”

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Why Lee Trevino feels Scottie Scheffler is becoming like Jack Nicklaus

admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 03:12:37 +0000

Lee Trevino, one of golf’s greatest players, is talking about his high regard for Jack Nicklaus, perhaps the greatest player, and Scottie Scheffler, the current top-ranked golfer, and he can illustrate that thought, though to help him, he needs another sport besides the one where all three claim their fame.

Volleyball.

Appearing on a video released Wednesday on the PGA Championships’ YouTube channel, Trevino was asked about several topics by host Rich Beem, who, like Trevino, is a PGA winner. They remembered Trevino’s start in golf. His victories. How he won them. The entire video is worth a watch, and you can do so here. One of the more interesting points, though, came when Beem asked Trevino what role Nicklaus played in his success.

Notably, Trevino said it was small, at least at the start. He knew Nicklaus’ standing. He knew what he needed to meet that. “You kind of pull your belt a little tighter,” Trevino said, in his Trevino way. That said, though, Trevino said he thought his humble beginnings had numbed him to any pressure — “I didn’t know what the hell pressure was,” he said — and that helped his play.

Then came a moment at a Ryder Cup.

Trevino and Nicklaus were teammates, and one of the nights, there was a function, but Nicklaus was a no-show. Later, Trevino asked him about that. The event felt important.

But Nicklaus said his daughter had a volleyball match.

“And that’s when I realized,” Trevino said, “you know, there’s more to this game.”

He went further on Nicklaus.

“I respect his golf, but I respect his fatherhood more,” Trevino said. “He was the best dad I have ever seen in my life.

“I learned a lot from him. I had kids in the beginning. I got divorced, [and] I never knew them because I was always on the golf course. When I married this young lady in ’83 and we had two kids, she looked at me and she says, ‘You’re going to help me raise these.’ And they went everywhere. But she pulled them. She would — no, no, she said, ‘We’re going to go see your dad.’ You know, ‘We’re going with your dad.’ And Friday nights, man, they were there, come home, the whole thing.

“And I knew exactly what Jack did. That gave me the vision of saying, ‘This is what Jack was doing.’”

And Trevino said he sees Scheffler doing that, too.

As he’s won 20 PGA Tour events over the past four years, including four majors, Scheffler has often talked about his family. He most memorably did so during a lengthy answer at a press conference at last year’s Open Championship, where he said his family is his priority.

“I’m blessed to be able to come out here and play golf,” Scheffler said, “but if my golf ever started affecting my home life or it ever affected the relationship I have with my wife or my son, that’s going to be the last day that I play out here for a living.

“This is not the be all, end all. This is not the most important thing in my life.”

Trevino has noticed.

“Scottie said, ‘Listen, it’s just not this game,’” he said.

Here, Trevino ended his answer with a quick joke. After all, this is Trevino, who’s as skilled with his words as he is his golf.

“But I guess when you’re the GOAT, you say, ‘You can spend more time at home.’”

Editor’s note: To watch the entire PGA Championships video with Trevino, please click here.

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Scottie Scheffler is betting favorite

admin — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:05:32 +0000

The 2026 RBC Heritage, the first PGA Tour event after the 2026 Masters, begins this week at Harbour Town, and the runner-up from the Masters is the favorite to win. Here is everything you need to know about the RBC Heritage odds and other betting favorites to start the week.

RBC Heritage betting favorites

Heading into this week’s RBC Heritage, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite, coming in with +350 odds-to-win.

Scheffler nearly won his third Masters title on Sunday at Augusta National, eventually finishing runner-up behind winner Rory McIlroy. He already has one win on the season, though, and his Masters result was his fourth top-4 finish of the year.

Though McIlroy won’t be in the field, virtually everyone else from Masters will be joining Scheffler on Hilton Head Island this week.

Xander Schauffele is in second place in the pre-tournament odds at +1600 odds-to-win. Cameron Young, who was tied with McIlroy for the Masters lead heading into Sunday, is tied for third in RBC Heritage odds at +1800. Tommy Fleetwood is right there with him.

Filling out the top 5 are three other players who had solid performances at the Masters: Matt Fitzpatrick, Russell Henley and Patrick Cantlay (+2200).

You can see the top 20 and ties in the 2026 RBC Heritage betting odds as of Monday morning below, or download the Fanatics Sportsbook app to see the full list of odds and bets for this week.

2026 RBC Heritage betting odds

Scottie Scheffler (+350)
Xander Schauffele (+1600)
Cameron Young (+1800)
Tommy Fleetwood (+1800)
Matt Fitzpatrick (+2000)
Russell Henley (+2000)
Ludvig Aberg (+2200)
Patrick Cantlay (+2200)
Collin Morikawa (+2500)
Sam Burns (+2500)
Jake Knapp (+3250)
Justin Thomas (+3500)
Robert MacIntyre (+3500)
Jordan Spieth (+4000)
Maverick McNealy (+4000)
Si Woo Kim (+4000)
Viktor Hovland (+4000)
Ben Griffin (+4500)
Jason Day (+4500)
Shane Lowry (+4500)

Kevin Cunningham

Golf.com Editor

As senior managing producer for GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes stories on GOLF.com, and manages the brand’s e-newsletters, which reach more than 1.4 million subscribers each month. A former two-time intern, he also helps keep GOLF.com humming outside the news-breaking stories and service content provided by our reporters and writers, and works with the tech team in the development of new products and innovative ways to deliver an engaging site to our audience.

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Scottie Scheffler switches to TaylorMade Qi4D driver at Bay Hill

admin — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 01:13:29 +0000

After two seasons with the Qi10, the world’s No. 1 player begins the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a new driver.

ORLANDO, Fla. — When the world’s No. 1 player finally decides a club deserves a place in the bag, it tends to mean something.

After two seasons of sticking with his trusted TaylorMade Qi10 driver, Scottie Scheffler started the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on Thursday using TaylorMade’s new Qi4D driver, joining a growing list of the company’s marquee players who have already made the move.

“I feel like what we have seen is more consistent spin numbers. So that will help it be a little bit more accurate off the tee,” he told members of the media after an opening-round 2-under 70 on Thursday. “Directionally, I struggled a little bit with it at the start of the year, but I got to what I thought was a really good spot last week, and I liked what I saw today.”

Scheffler used the driver Wednesday during the pro-am, and it appears to be fitted with the same Fujikura Ventus Black shaft that was in his Qi10.

For TaylorMade, the list of players already in the Qi4D includes Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood. Nelly Korda, Brooke Henderson and Charley Hull have also been playing Qi4D, but adding Scheffler to the group carries a different kind of weight because of how reluctant he has been to change.

Scheffler’s loyalty to the Qi10 has been notable over the past year. Even when TaylorMade released the Qi35 driver in 2025, Scheffler bypassed it and kept using the Qi10, a club that had already delivered wins and consistent performance for the 29-year-old Texan. While McIlroy quickly transitioned into the Qi4D earlier this season, Scheffler tested it at the Hero World Challenge and then went back to his Qi10.

His reasoning was simple.

“I can be a difficult person to get a club in the bag,” he explained after the second round of the WM Phoenix Open. “I’m a little bit adverse to change as it is, and I have a driver in my bag that’s won quite a lot of golf tournaments. I’ve had a lot of success with it.

“It’s just one of those things that is tough. I’m not going to put anything in the bag unless I feel it’s better. We are getting really close. There are some improvements I’ve for sure seen in the new driver. It just hasn’t gotten quite where it needs to be in order for me to put it in competition.”

Apparently, it has now crossed that threshold.

The timing of the move is significant. The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a PGA Tour signature event. Next week comes the Players Championship. The 2026 Masters, the season’s first major, is just 35 days away. This is typically not the time of year players experiment with equipment or create a quarterback controversy inside the world No. 1’s bag.

For TaylorMade, getting Scheffler into a Qi4D driver is significant because it creates alignment: the brand’s most prominent ambassadors are all teeing it up with the same driver. That does not always happen, especially when one of those players spent the better part of two seasons proving that he did not feel the need to change.

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SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER AMERICAN EXPRESS WINNERS INTERVIEW

admin — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 16:37:33 +0000

The winner of the 2026 The American Express, World No. 1, Scottie Scheffler Interview

Scottie, you captured your 20th win here, and in your season debut. What does it mean to cross that threshold for your 20th win?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I had not really thought about that very much. I mean, that’s a pretty cool feat to get to. This week in particular was a nice week. Got off to a good start over there at La Quinta, and then I came over here and kept the momentum going on these two courses.

Today was a day in which I played pretty nice and did some good things out there. I hit a lot of wedges really close to the hole, gave myself some easy birdies. And then when I was out of position did a good job of getting the ball up-and-down.

Q. It was a fun final pairing with a fellow friend, Si Woo Kim, and 18-year-old Blades Brown. What do you remember coming down the difficult stretch here?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It’s always fun getting to play with Si Woo, we play a lot of golf together. He’s such a talented player. And then Blades obviously has a lot of talent as well. It was fun to see his game today. He definitely has a bright future out here for sure.

Q. When you hear the comparisons now, only the third player before the age of 30 to win 20 and have four majors, with Tiger and Jack, and 36th all time on the win list. What’s your reaction to being put in those terms?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, any time you can get mentioned with those guys it means you’re doing some stuff right. At the end of the day it’s not something that will occupy many of my thoughts day-to-day. When I was thinking about getting ready for this week I was just trying to prepare and do the best that I could. Hopefully we’ll get out of the here tonight and get ready to gear up again, get some rest, and then get ready to kind of do it all over again in a couple weeks. I don’t spend too much time thinking about the milestones or anything like that.

Q. At the beginning of the day you’re one shot back, but you’re the world No. 1, and you’re the guy with the most wins in that group. Do you think you’ve got an advantage because of who you are and what you’ve done in the last four years?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Not necessarily. I think you got to go out there, and there’s a reason we play the tournament. There’s a reason why we have to finish off the tournament. You don’t get awarded the trophy on the 16th hole. You got to finish the tournament. I was going against two guys today in the final group that are really, really talented players. Si Woo has so much talent. He’s so good at golf. Then Blades, this is my first time seeing him, but anybody at 18 years old that can make it into the final pairing of a PGA TOUR event’s doing something right. And then there was plenty of other guys behind us chasing us. And it’s a course where you got to go out there and make birdies. So there was a lot of challenges today, but I’m proud of the way we played and put up a nice round.

Q. You would have taken the trophy at 16 green instead of going to 17 tee today?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: (Laughing). Yeah, I would have taken it on the 1st if they would give it to me there (laughing).

Q. And you competed. I’m just curious, do you have to win to have fun? Because you talk about that a lot.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, do I have to win to have fun? I would hope not. But winning is a lot more fun than losing.

Q. What’s the most fun part about competing, is it winning or is it something else?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, I think it’s really cool to step up there on the first tee — and I was just a kid dreaming of playing golf on the PGA TOUR, so to be able to come out here and play in final groups, play in front of crowds, play on the tour that I dreamed of playing on is a really cool feeling. Being in the arena, being in contention is a lot of fun, just because it’s something that we practice and work so hard for, so when you get in those moments you’re prepared and you’re able to enjoy the competition. This is something that is fun for me, but it can be really hard when things don’t go your way. It’s a lot more fun winning than losing.

Q. You spend all this off-season kind of preparing yourself to come out here and play well, and then you do what you did today. There’s like, I don’t know, nine shots inside six feet or whatever today. Is that even better than what you could have expected coming out here?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, there’s always a certain amount of rust when it comes to playing competitive golf. I think you come out here, you can simulate as best you can at home, but you can only get into the heat of the moment when you’re posting a score and you’re in contention when you’re at a tournament. So it’s nice to see some of the stuff that I’ve been being practicing and working on has paid off. I work really hard at keeping my wedges sharp, so it was nice today to get some good numbers and be able to hit some wedges in there really close.

It’s a lot easier holing a 2-footer than it is a 10-footer. So those little differences sometimes in the sharpness of where I’m at with my wedges can make a big difference. Today was a day in which I was able to make a good amount of birdies, and a lot of those birdies weren’t really long putts. So definitely I think it helps, especially when you’re playing in the final group.

Q. You smile when Meredith and Bennett are out there. But you were pretty low key in any kind of celebration. I realize it was a big margin for the most part. When do you, and how do you feel like you’ve won — like how does it feel to you, you have 20 now, do they feel different or how would you, how do you process them?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, that’s a good question. I think sometimes it’s hard to process when you’re in the moment. In order to get to the position of being in the final group, in order to get to the position where you have a large lead, you have to do such a good job of mentally staying in a good place on the golf course. So most of the day I’m trying to remain calm, focus on the things that I can execute, and then it’s a matter of going out and hitting the shots.

So in order for me to do that I have to stay focused, I have to stay relaxed. When the tournament’s over, you know, I think you spend so much of the day trying to really stay ready, stay on top of where things are at, so when the tournament ends it’s kind of like, okay, it’s almost like more of a relief now that the day’s over and I’m able to win the tournament.

This golf course can put a lot of stress on you. Especially playing with the lead. It’s challenging finishing off a tournament. You got an island green on 17, water on 18, there’s trouble all around the golf course. So I would say it’s a challenging place to play with the lead. So when the tournament’s over I’m a bit tired from really focusing so hard the entire round.

Q. Another fun factor question. I changed the word to make it a satisfaction level. From your experience, do you find any difference in the satisfaction level of a tight one with, like Bob at BMW or Ben Griffin at Napa, or ones where you kind of got it in hand, 4-, 5-shot win?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: There’s definitely a different feeling at the end. If you look back at BMW, being able to hole that chip on 17, in a tight match the whole day, you have to execute when it matters the most. So also that was a big comeback for me that day. I started the day maybe four shots behind him. It’s a bit of a different feeling. Today I just did a good job of really staying patient, staying in my own little world, and doing the things I needed to do, especially when I got out of position.

I mean, I hit some really, really nice pitch shots today to where I didn’t have to go up there and hole a 6-footer, I was able to walk up and tap in a 1-footer and then we’re on to the next holing.

13’s a good example. I had a little bit of a lead, and you get to this hole where there’s water in play. Maybe I had a three-shot lead at the time and it’s one of the hardest holes at the golf course. And I hit my shot to the right, and it’s like, okay, missed it in the correct spot. Instead of chipping it up there and having to hole an eight-footer, I chipped it up there to six inches, and it saves me some energy, saves me some stress off of the round, and I’m able to move on to the next hole.

Q. Last year with the injury you kind of had to play your way into form. This year you obviously have the full off-season to do what you need to do. Can you compare and contrast how it felt returning last year to your first tournament compared to this year when you had all that time to do what you wanted to do?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, it’s a bit easier this way. I’m going to try to continue this into the future. This is a little easier off-season than last. It’s just, I mean, it’s one of those things. You look at last year, it is different just because I had made what I felt was so much progress in the off-season, and then to have that basically taken away by four to six weeks of inactivity from golf, that has an effect. To fine tune the skills that we have out here takes a lot of work. Like the chipping. There’s a big difference between hitting a chip to a foot versus five feet. If I hit it to foot I’m probably never going to miss that foot putt. But if you hit it to five feet your percentages of making that putt go down. When you just kind of see that over the course of four days, that has an effect on where my game is at. So being able to have the whole off-season to prepare to come out here — I did take a nice break at the end of the year, but to have that time to prepare and get my body and mind right in order to compete I think really paid off early in the season.

Q. Along with the new history that you authored today with your 20th win, we of course got our proud history in the Coachella Valley, 67 consecutive years of TOUR golf. Provided some uncertainty of what the schedule could look like for next year, what would you as the new AmEx champion and we’re very proud to call you that here, what would you say about keeping this tournament when it is and where it is?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I mean, that stuff is all above my pay grade. I come out here and compete where the tournaments are. And the PGA TOUR runs the best tournaments in the world. I think I can we have the best TOUR in the world, and the best competition. And tournaments like these are really fun to play. We get spoiled out here this week. The golf courses are in fantastic condition, the crowds are really nice, and it’s a fun week to come out here and play golf.

Q. You talk a lot about staying patient when you got off to a great start. And I hear that from a lot of players who stay patient. Can you give an idea of what it looks like when you’re not, just so we’ll know?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: If things are flying around that’s typically not a good sign, whether it be clubs or other objects. That’s typically a bad sign. No, I think that especially when you look at a golf course like this that’s extremely important, because you can’t really force it around this place.

I hit a nice shot to No. 4. But then I played the next hole, the 5th hole, I played that par-5 how I would describe quite smart. I hit a nice drive into the fairway, which was almost a mistake, I was almost aiming down the right rough line. Then we miss it in the correct spot left of the green. I’m able to take advantage of my short game, get the ball up-and-down, and make an easy birdie.

If I was trying to force things, maybe I felt like I had to make eagle on that hole, maybe I chase after that pin on the right site and hit it in the water or put it in a tough spot over the green. A lot of staying patient is just continuing to execute and play the right shots.

Q. One hole at a time. That’s just a great cliche, but…

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I mean, like if you look at my front nine today, it was not by any means perfect ball striking. I had a few misses to the left. But when you look at the holes where I missed left it was always the correct miss. So missing on the right side, getting the ball to the right areas, and being able to take advantage of some of the things that I do well, whether it’s my short game or putting or whatever it is. But, yeah, it was a good round.

Q. Can you think of a time where you lost patience from a standpoint that you learned, don’t do that again?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Off the top of my head, no. But, I mean, my whole career I think you’re always constantly learning, you’re always constantly figuring out how you can get a little bit better. And a lot of times it’s, how can you approach shots the right way. Sometimes when you’re either under the gun or you feel like you need to press, that’s when you tend to make poor decisions.

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Scheffler enters Tiger territory, Reed’s secret free agency?

admin — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:38:22 +0000

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we break down Scottie Scheffler’s latest historic achievement and a strange Patrick Reed revelation.

Scottie Scheffler kicked off his 2026 season just as you might have imagined: with another victory. Scheffler shot a final-round 66 to win the American Express by four and claim his 20th career PGA Tour win. What did you think of Scheffler’s season debut? And if you are the rest of the Tour, what are you thinking?

Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): Forget what I think. How about what the 18-year-old playing alongside Scheffler on Sunday thinks! “One of the coolest things that I learned today was how underrated Scottie Scheffler’s short game is,” Blades Brown said after his buzz-kill fourth-round 74. “To see it in person and just to look at kind of the trajectory and the spin, and just the control that he has with his wedges and short game. Obviously his putting is insane too. It was really cool to watch.” I would concur — Scheffler’s 1.18 putts per green Sunday was best in the field. His 9 birdies were also impressive. Every time I looked up, it seemed Scheffler was spinning a wedge back to within four feet of the hole. Looked like a Golden Tee round. What is the rest of the Tour thinking? Probably. . . [sigh] here we go again.

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): I know this deserves like a thousand qualifiers, because the American Express is historically one of the easiest tournaments relative to par, but Scottie won in a way we’ve never seen on Sunday. He didn’t just outweather his opponents; he outgunned them. He made nine birdies, and eight of them were converted from inside of five feet (!!!). He’s the third player ever (behind Tiger and Jack) to 20 wins and 4 majors before his 30th birthday — and to everyone else in golf, that should be … terrifying.

Josh Sens, senior writer, (@joshsens). To me, this looked like more of the same. A golfer with no physical weaknesses whose mental game is every bit as good. In this, a relatively low-wattage event, Scheffler proved again that unlike some other big guns in the game, he never takes a week off.

Scheffler won six times last year and seven the year before. If you are Vegas and deciding the over/under line for Scheffler wins in 2026, what are you setting it at?

Bastable: Feels like cheating given we already have one. Can he win five more? Of course! Six more? Maybe. Seven more would bring us to Tiger territory (TW won eight times in both 1999 and 2006). And eight more would bring us to Vijay Singh (2004) and Tiger again (2000) territory. Feels like a big ask. We’re setting the o/u at 6. What say ye, colleagues?!

Colgan: Agreed, Basty. Six is the only rational number. But great athletes teach us to believe in the irrational. I don’t think eight is out of the question.

Sens: If the line is six, I’m all in on the over. One down already, with –if his past schedule repeats–upwards of 15 to 20 starts remaining? I’ll be collecting my money by late August.

Besides Scheffler taking control of the tournament, it was 18-year-old Blades Brown who made headlines earlier in the week. He received a sponsor’s exemption and made his 10th career PGA Tour start, shot 60 on Friday and was one off the lead after 54-holes before shooting 74 Sunday and falling out of the top 10. Was this finish an outlier? Or is Blades a name golf fans should expect to see more of?

Bastable: Outlier? Hardly! He’d already made three PGA Tour cuts heading into this week at an age at which most of his peers are less worried about staring down Scottie Scheffler on a Sunday afternoon than they are about prepping for their next pre-calc exam or landing a prom date. Blades sounds like he’s in full sponge mode. On Sunday evening, he said he could “write a book about what I’ve learned these past couple of days.” In pro golf, 18 is the new 28. There’s little reason to think we won’t see Blades playing more meaningful weekend golf on the PGA Tour this year.

Colgan: The finish wasn’t an outlier. Blades is a name that fans should remember. BUT — and there is a “but” — Sunday was a lesson in how much separates him from consistent PGA Tour success. I’m unbelievably impressed that, at 18 years old, his ceiling is already up there with the best in the sport. But careers are built on raising your floor.

Sens: Blades is no fluke. A name like that is destiny. Guess I shouldn’t have named my son “Shanks.” Poor kid never stood a chance.

‘All kind of depends’: Patrick Reed reveals he isn’t signed with LIV for 2026

By:

Kevin Cunningham

Patrick Reed, days before he won the Dubai Desert Classic, told The Telegraph he’d consider rejoining the PGA Tour if allowed. Then, on Sunday morning, he revealed he has yet to re-sign with LIV Golf — whose season begins in less than two weeks. The Tour’s Returning Member Program specifically created pathways for major winners of the past four years, which Reed doesn’t fall under. Why wouldn’t the Tour be interested in Reed rejoining?

Bastable: Who says they’re not?! I think Brian Rolapp and Co. are interested in welcoming back any player who makes PGA Tour fields stronger and LIV fields weaker. Yes, the current framing of the RMP precludes a Reed return, but rules, as the PGA Tour has been proving of late, are made to be broken — or, at the very least, altered. Who knows where we’ll be in a year? When asked Sunday if he’s been talking to the PGA Tour, Reed said, “Not right now,” which suggests conversations have been happening. I, for one, miss P-Reed. However you feel about the guy, he makes tournaments more interesting.

Colgan: That whole P-Reed back-and-forth was SO weird. If we’ve learned one thing from the Brooks and Bryson situations, it’s that LIV contracts are like every other negotiation — they’re all about leverage! Why is Reed surrendering his leverage by keeping his free agency a secret? I have no idea. But if his PGA Tour return odds are hampered, I’d bet it’s because he’s been operating under the cover of darkness.

Sens: Golf’s civil war is also a zero-sum game. I’m sure the Tour would be interested in getting Reed back for that reason. A win for Ponte Vedra equals a loss for LIV, and the other way around. My guess is that we won’t see that this year. He’s already exempt into the Masters, his world ranking is now solidly inside the top 50, and he’s just improved his market value in any negotiations with LIV. That’s another way of saying that he can likely have his cake and eat it too, resigning for big money without necessarily missing out on the majors.

Speaking of the Returning Member Program, next up on Tour is the Farmers Insurance Open where Brooks Koepka will make his long-awaited return to the PGA Tour. What are you most looking forward to hearing from Koepka about, and how do you expect him to play in his first start?

Bastable: I’m not sure we’ll get a whole lot from him — in the press tent, anyway. I would expect focused, tight-lipped Koepka in San Diego. And who knows what we’ll see on the course? The dirty little secret about Brooks is . . . he has not been playing well. He had just two top-10s on LIV in 2025 and both came in his first four starts. In his last four starts he finished no better than T29. Maybe he was unmotivated. Maybe he was distracted by personal issues. Maybe he was dreaming of his PGA Tour return. Hard to know with Brooks. What we do know is he has much to prove. Would it surprise me if he contends? It would not.

Colgan: I’ve heard a few of Brooks’ LIV counterparts mention Koepka’s personal situation was a key component of his decision to return. I’m not expecting him to clue us in, but it would be nice to hear his on-the-record reasoning for returning to the Tour.

Sens: I’m trying to remember the last time I heard something truly revealing in a press conference. I don’t expect that to change when Koepka steps to the podium. But I expect him to play well, recent form be damned. If ever there was a guy who can turn it off and then back on when it matters to him, it’s Koepka.

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Scottie Scheffler is on the brink of a rare Tiger Woods feat

admin — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 07:05:49 +0000

As it turns out, the only thing better than winning is winning a lot.

Tiger Woods knows how that feels. Eighty-two times during his PGA Tour career, he ended a tournament week by raising the trophy — winning at a clip and with a gusto we have rarely seen since.

Scottie Scheffler might still have some work to do on the “gusto” part of the equation (even now, he carries his success with an understated, almost embarrassed subtlety). But as far as the “winning” part of the equation is concerned? Well, he’s on a historic trajectory.

On Sunday morning, Scheffler will arrive at the American Express as he often does on Sunday mornings during the golf season: As the betting favorite to emerge from Sunday afternoon as the winner. At the 54-hole mark in Palm Springs, Calif., Scheffler is one shot off the mark set by Si Woo Kim, lurking after three days of the brand of boringly spectacular play that has become his trademark. According to the sharps in Vegas, he is (at worst) even money to win the whole tournament.

You don’t have to think hard right now to know how a Scheffler victory would look. Another blemish-free Sunday, another slow-but-deliberate accumulation of pars and birdies, another four or five-shot advantage, another postgame celebration with family.

But the truth is that this victory for Scheffler would be noticeably different from those that came before it — because this victory brings some historical significance. Should Scheffler win on Sunday at the American Express, he would reach 20 PGA Tour wins for his career. And, should he reach 20 PGA Tour wins for his career on Sunday, he would become only the third golfer in history to reach the 20-victory mark before his 30th birthday, behind only Jack Nicklaus and, yes, Tiger Woods. (These stats come to us courtesy of the always-razor-sharp Justin Ray.)

A win Sunday for Scottie Scheffler would be his 20th on the PGA Tour.

Only 2 players in the modern era have won 20+ PGA Tour titles including 4+ majors before age 30: Jack Nicklaus & Tiger Woods.

Scheffler would become the 3rd.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) January 25, 2026

Of course, Scheffler would not quite be in “Woods Territory” with a victory on Sunday. At the time of his 30th birthday, Tiger had already amassed an astonishing 46 professional wins. If Scheffler played in an event every week until his 30th birthday on June 21 and won each, he would only get to 39 victories before his 30th — still seven wins shy of Woods.

Still, to find yourself in the 20/30 club is to find yourself in rarefied air — up next to arguably the two greatest players ever. Despite his brilliance, Scheffler’s historic trajectory has remained one of the underreported stories in golf over the last several years, a feat likely owed to his low-key style both on the course and off of it.

To reach the 20-win mark before his 30th would redefine that conversation as we know it — and it would start on Sunday at the American Express.

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Scheffler favorite in PGA Tour debut

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 05:46:30 +0000

The new 2026 PGA Tour season continues this week at the 2026 American Express in California, and the World No. 1 is making his season debut as the betting favorite. Here is everything you need to know about the American Express odds and other betting favorites to start the week.

American Express betting favorites

At this week’s tournament, the second event of the new PGA Tour season, several Tour stars will make their season debuts. But far and away the most notable is Scottie Scheffler.

The World No. 1 has won four-straight Player of the Year awards, dominating the game unlike anyone since Tiger Woods in his prime. As a result, Scheffler’s betting odds are frequently lopsided.

Look no further than this week.

Scheffler comes into the American Express as a massive betting favorite at +280 odds-to-win.

The next player on the list is Scheffler’s Ryder Cup teammate Ben Griffin. Griffin won three times in 2025 and was nominated for Player of the Year. But Scheffler’s dominance has been so great that there’s an enormous gap between him and Griffin.

Griffin’s odds-to-win are +1800.

Filling out the top 5 in betting odds are three players with multiple PGA Tour wins: Ludvig Aberg, Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley. They’re knotted at +2200 odds-to-win.

You can see the top 20 and ties in the 2026 American Express betting odds as of Monday morning below, or download the Fanatics Sportsbook app to see the full list of odds and bets for this week.

2026 American Express betting odds (top 20 and ties)

Scottie Scheffler (+280)
Ben Griffin (+1800)
Ludvig Aberg (+2200)
Patrick Cantlay (+2200)
Russell Henley (+2200)
Sam Burns (+2200)
Robert MacIntyre (+2500)
Matt Fitzpatrick (+2800)
Harry Hall (+3250)
Si Woo Kim (+3250)
Sepp Straka (+3500)
Alex Noren (+4250)
Taylor Pendrith (+4500)
Harris English (+5000)
Michael Thorbjornsen (+5500)
Rickie Fowler (+5500)
Davis Thompson (+6000)
Kurt Kitayama (+6000)
Rasmus Hojgaard (+6000)
Jason Day (+6500)
Min Woo Lee (+6500)

Kevin Cunningham

Golf.com Editor

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