Pre-Tournament Information – 2026 The American Express

Player Interviews (All times local PT)

Tuesday, January 20                                      

2 p.m. – Will Zalatoris

Wednesday, January 21

8:15 a.m. – Sepp Straka

TBD

Scottie Scheffler

Adam Scott

*Visit pgatourmedia.com for the latest interview schedule

Scottie Scheffler

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is contesting a seventh American Express and hoping to secure a first victory. Image The American Express

• World No. 1 making his sixth start at The American Express (3^rd/2020, MC/2021, T25/2022, T11/2023, T17/2024)
• Returns to The American Express after missing in 2025 due to an injury to his right hand (sustained in December 2024)
• Held a share of the 36- and 54-hole leads at the 2020 American Express and went on to finish third
• Won six times in 2025, his second consecutive season with at least six wins (2024/7), joining Tiger Woods (1999/8, 2000/9, 2005/6, 2006/8, 2007/7, 2009/6) as the only two players since 1983 to record 6+ wins in multiple seasons
• Finished last season inside the top 25 in all 20 starts, with a season-high 17 top-10 finishes (including 15 straight)

• Ranked first in scoring average in Round 1 (67.45), Round 2 (68.00), Round 3 (68.40) and Round 4 (68.10) in 2025, becoming the first player since Tiger Woods (2000) to lead the TOUR in all four categories in a single season

• Reigning four-time PGA TOUR Player of the Year became second player to win the award four or more consecutive times (Tiger Woods/1999-2003)
• 19-time PGA TOUR winner has won three of his last five starts on TOUR in 2025 (The Open Championship, BMW Championship, Procore Championship)
• 29-year-old seeks to become first player since Tiger Woods to earn 20 PGA TOUR wins under the age of 30
  • Woods’ 20th win came at the 2000 U.S. Open/24 years, 5 months, 19 days

Adam Scott

• 14-time PGA TOUR winner will make his tournament debut at The American Express
• Marks second start of the season after finishing T40 at last week’s Sony Open in Hawaii

• Enters the season having played 97 consecutive major championships, a streak which began at the 2001 Open Championship and is the second longest in golf history (Jack Nicklaus played in 146 straight majors from 1962 to 1998)
• Finished No. 112 in the 2025 FedExCup Fall standings; playing on the final year of his exemption via the Top 30 in the 2024 FedExCup standings
• 2025 marked the first time without a top-10 finish since 2001 (best finish: T12/U.S. Open)

Sepp Straka

• Defending champion is making his sixth start at The American Express
• Won the 2025 American Express by two strokes over Justin Thomas to earn his third PGA TOUR victory
• Four-time PGA TOUR winner, including two last season (The American Express, Truist Championship), his first season with multiple wins on TOUR
• Qualified for the 2025 FedExCup Playoffs for the seventh consecutive year and advanced to the TOUR Championship for the fourth year in a row, finishing No. 30 in the standings

Will Zalatoris

• Making first start since back surgery after fixing two re-herniated discs in May of 2025
• Marks first start on TOUR since 2025 PGA Championship (MC)
• Prior to surgery, had three top-25 finishes and made nine cuts in 11 starts in 2025
• Making fifth consecutive start at The American Express (T6/2022, T36/2023, T34/2024, T12/2025)
• Has one PGA TOUR victory in 98 starts (2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship) 

The American Express notes

• The American Express is the second event of the 2026 PGA TOUR Season and second Full-Field Event
• Marks one of two official PGA TOUR events that uses a pro-am format (along with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am) and one of four that is played across multiple courses (others: Farmers Insurance Open, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, The RSM Classic); the only of the four to be played across more than two courses
• Format:
  • Competitors rotate the first three rounds between PGA West’s Pete Dye Stadium Course, the Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club
  • Each professional will be grouped with amateurs for the first three rounds before the low 65 professionals (and ties) will play their final round at the Stadium Course at PGA West
• The field features:
  • 13 of the top-30 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, highlighted by World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler
    • Other notables making their season debut include Ludvig Åberg, Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and Max Homa
  • Eight past champions: Charley Hoffman (2007), Jhonattan Vegas (2011), Jason Dufner (2016), Adam Long (2019), Andrew Landry (2020), Si Woo Kim (2021), Nick Dunlap (2024), Sepp Straka (2025)
  • Six of the seven FedExCup Fall winners: Scottie Scheffler (Procore Championship), Steven Fisk (Sanderson Farms Championship), Michael Brennan (Bank of Utah Championship), Ben Griffin (World Wide Technology Championship), Adam Schenk (Butterfield Bermuda Championship), Sami Valimaki (The RSM Classic)
  • Nine players in the field finished in the top 10 at last week’s season-opening Sony Open in Hawaii: Ryan Gerard (2^nd), Patrick Rodgers (3^rd), Robert MacIntyre (T4), Jacob Bridgeman (T4), Daniel Berger (T6), Taylor Pendrith (T6), Lee Hodges (T6), Davis Riley (T6), Harry Hall (T6)
  • 19 of the 22 PGA TOUR rookies are scheduled to compete in The American Express; four finished inside the top 20 at last week’s Sony Open in Hawaii: Sudarshan Yellamaraju (T13), Dan Brown (T19), John Parry (T19), Kensei Hirata (T24)

PGA TOUR season notes

• The 34-event FedExCup Regular Season schedule features the 52^nd playing of THE PLAYERS Championship in March, the four major championships and eight Signature Events
• Eight Signature Events are on the schedule: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, RBC Heritage, Cadillac Championship, Truist Championship, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday and Travelers Championship
• The 20^th edition of the FedExCup Playoffs will take place in August and will feature the top 70 players in the FedExCup standings qualifying for the first FedExCup Playoffs event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship (August 13-16) at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee; those players will be exempt for Full-Field events and THE PLAYERS in 2027
• Fifty players will then advance to the BMW Championship (August 20-23) at Bellerive Country Club in Saint Louis, Missouri; those players will be fully exempt for the following season and qualify for all Signature Events in 2027
• Thirty players will then advance to East Lake Golf Club (August 27-30) for the TOUR Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, with the FedExCup Champion being crowned