LOS ANGELES \u2013 Scottie Scheffler steered clear of wine glasses when helping with Christmas dinner last year.<\/p>\n
That joke was surely going around the PGA West resort in La Quinta, California, as the No. 1 player in the world arrived for The American Express, his 2026 PGA Tour season debut.<\/p>\n
Scheffler\u2019s 2025 season got off to a delayed start after he injured his hand on Christmas 2024, when a wine glass shattered while he was using it to shape ravioli for dinner. Among other tournaments, he missed The American Express in the Palm Desert region of California.<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re on a long hot streak like Scheffler has been since 2022, you don\u2019t need to make many changes to your approach. Speaking with reporters ahead of the event which starts on Thursday, the American said he treated his off-season the same as usual.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a few extra weeks off this year, and fortunately it wasn\u2019t due to injury, just the start of the year started a little bit later for me,\u201d he said. \u201cOverall, no, things I would say were pretty similar for me in the off-season.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time, his season is starting later because of how the PGA calendar worked out.<\/p>\n
The normal season opener, The Sentry, was cancelled due to drought conditions on Maui. So Scheffler didn\u2019t fly to Hawaii, skipping last week\u2019s Sony Open in Honolulu in favor of the California swing.<\/p>\n
It beats his hometown of Dallas, which has snow in the forecast this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw it\u2019s going to snow in Dallas this week, so definitely glad to be here wearing shorts and a shirt,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cI think the tournament\u2019s really well run. I think they do a good job of taking care of us. It\u2019s a nice week for my family and me to enjoy some good weather, and play some competitive golf, and kind of get a gauge of where I\u2019m at to start the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the PGA Tour last saw Scheffler, he was on another incredible streak of success, finishing in the top 10 in his final 15 starts of the 2025 season with six wins, including two majors. He also tied for fourth at Tiger Woods\u2019 Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event, in December.<\/p>\n
After some time off, Scheffler is eager to see where his game stands, but don\u2019t mistake that for playing his way into shape.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely don\u2019t show up to tournaments trying to get my game into shape,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI like to be prepared, and that\u2019s something that I pride myself on. So I like to say that\u2019s a good gauge, just because it\u2019s different being in competition I think than practicing at home. You can do your best to simulate it, but I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything like coming out here and playing and posting a 72-hole score.<\/p>\n
\u201cTournament golf\u2019s always just a bit different. You can prepare as hard as you can, but sometimes you do have to shake off a little bit of competitive rust just from an extended break.\u201d REUTERS<\/p>\n
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