World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler launched his 2026 US PGA Tour marketing campaign with a runaway victory within the American Specific at La Quinta, California.
Scheffler, whose 2025 season included two main titles amongst six victories, piled up 9 birdies in a six-under par 66 on the Stadium Course, the place even a double-bogey on the seventeenth was barely a blip on the best way to a 27-under par complete of 261 and a four-shot victory.
Australian veteran Jason Day climbed right into a share of second with an excellent eight-under par 64.
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Day climbed 18 spots in his first begin of the yr and completed 4 strokes again from Scheffler.
It gave the 37-year outdated his one centesimal top-100 end of his PGA Tour and made him the fourth Aussie to achieve the feat after Bruce Crampton (136), Greg Norman (129) and Adam Scott (115).
“That was a milestone that I used to be very concerned with, like very excited to get to,” Day mentioned of his one centesimal high 10 end.
“It’s simply one other little notch within the cap that you just’re more than happy about hitting.
“You take a look at a few of the careers of the opposite guys and also you all the time take a look at what number of wins, high fives, high 10s, high 25s. You don’t wish to evaluate your self, however you all the time appear to check your self.
“It’s good to have the ability to lastly recover from that little hump, and now the remainder is nice.
“I’m wanting ahead to the remainder of my profession and seeing what number of extra high 10s I can clearly get.”
Day was joined on 265 by Individuals Ryan Gerard, Matt McCarty and Andrew Putnam, Gerard posting a seven-under 65 and McCarty and Putnam every signing for a 68.
Scheffler, 29, turned the primary participant since Tiger Woods to seize his twentieth US PGA Tour title earlier than the age of 30. He’s off to his fifth straight season with a minimum of one victory.
“It means lots,” Scheffler mentioned. “It was a difficult week. I did a superb job of staying affected person and executing after I wanted to.”
Scheffler, who hasn’t missed a lower on the PGA Tour since August 2022, began the day one off the lead and opened with a birdie. He bogeyed the second earlier than settling in with back-to-back birdies at 4 and 5 and one other pair at seven and eight.
He added 4 extra birdies coming in, his four-footer on the par-five sixteenth pushing him to 29-under.
He was within the water off the tee on the best way to a double-bogey on the par-three seventeenth, however by then there was no catching him.
In a single day chief Kim Si-woo of South Korea carded a good par 72 to tie for sixth on 22-under.
Teenager Blades Brown, who began the day tied with Scheffler on 21-under, closed with a two-over 74 for a share of 18th.
It completed off a outstanding week for the 18-year-old from Tennessee, who tied for seventeenth in a Korn Ferry occasion within the Bahamas on Wednesday earlier than a splash to California to tee it up on a sponsor’s exemption.
He flirted with a 59 on Friday, when a 60 gave him a share of the midway lead. He had a birdie probability at 18 for a share of tenth — and a spot within the Torrey Pines subject.
He closed with a bogey however departed blissful along with his week.
“I may in all probability write a e-book about what I’ve realized these previous couple of days,” Brown mentioned.
“Simply realizing that I can compete out right here. It was so cool watching Scottie win in particular person and attending to play with him.
“He’s such an unbelievable man. He talked to me quite a few occasions all through the spherical and was giving me lots of encouragement, so it was superior.”
FINAL ROUND SCORES
261 – Scottie Scheffler 63-64-68-66 265
Jason Day (AUS) 63-71-67-64
Ryan Gerard 70-66-64-65
Matt McCarty 63-66-68-68
Andrew Putnam 72-60-65-68 266
Sam Stevens 64-67-68-67
Kim Si-woo (KOR) 63-65-66-72 267
Sahith Theegala 71-64-67-65
Li Haotong (CHN) 68-67-64-68
Russell Henley 65-66-69-67
Austin Smotherman 66-65-68-68
Tom Hoge 64-68-65-70