The final Sunday in January is a sacred time in sports television – and this final Sunday was even more special.
For one glorious weekend, while the weather is cold and the living room is warm, everyone’s eyes are on television. And, with an enormous snowstorm sweeping much of the United States, sports TV executives were salivating: this weekend’s numbers could be even bigger than normal.
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In theory, these conditions set the scene for a mammoth audience for Scottie Scheffler’s first victory of 2026 at the American Express in Palm Springs, Calif. – a blowout win that served as the latest and most consequential evidence of Scheffler’s historic trajectory. But in practice, they were the conditions that made for a perfectly fitting Scheffler victory celebration: a routine ass-kicking that hardly anyone appreciated, because it occurred during the same time as the weekend’s primary sports draw, the NFC and AFC Championship Games.
In the end, Scheffler’s victory was the kind that clarified the full breadth of his historic run of golf in the 2020s. With his four-shot win at the American Express, he became just the third golfer of the modern era to amass 20 victories before the age of 30, following only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. Scheffler also became the third-fastest player in pro golf history to reach 20 victories, his 151 starts trailing Woods (95) and Nicklaus (127), but leading well ahead of Arnold Palmer (178). (These stats come to us courtesy of the always-brilliant Justin Ray.)
In most ways, it was fitting that Scheffler’s history-stamping victory on Sunday would arrive in front of one of the lowest-key settings on the pro golf calendar. Since arriving in pro golf, the World No. 1 has gone to unusual lengths to downplay his own exploding celebrity – going as far as to travel to a Chipotle location in a different town where he has found himself less likely to be recognized. His trouncing of the field for his ninth victory by four or more shots since 2021, which would be good for the second-most wins on the PGA Tour by any margin in that same time span, was perfectly timed to generate the least amount of noise.
It was also fitting that Scheffler would take this opportunity to debut a brand-new style of dominance on Sunday afternoon at PGA West, passing up his typical game of mental stamina in favor of a furious display of ball-striking fervor. Scheffler recorded an astonishing nine birdies on Sunday, and even that undersells the performance, which rendered the tournament uncompetitive by the time he reached the 13th tee box. Of his nine birdies, just one required a putt of more than five feet (!).
In the end, the people who could speak to Scheffler’s best were the ones who witnessed it from up close, including 18-year-old Blades Brown, who learned firsthand how wide Scheffler’s gap at World No. 1 actually looks at the start of 2026.
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“I would say one of the coolest things that I learned today was how underrated Scottie Scheffler’s short game is,” Brown said, highlighting one of the perceived weaknesses in Scheffler’s game. “To see it in person and to look at the trajectory and the spin and the control that he has with his wedges and short game. Obviously his putting is insane too. It was really cool to watch. So I’m definitely going to go work on that.”
Brown said that Scheffler was a consummate playing partner, even going out of his way during Sunday’s final round to give the teenager advice. This, too, was a sign of Scheffler’s break from the stars of yesteryear, who would prefer to stare holes into the earth (Woods) or embrace the challenge within (Nicklaus) than interact so jovially in the heat of the battle.
Still, the similarities between the trio were more striking. Like Nicklaus and Woods, it is becoming clear that Scheffler has the kind of gravitational pull that strengthens on Sunday afternoon … and holds primordial powers over his closest counterparts. Case in point: At one point on Sunday afternoon, Scheffler’s two playing partners (Brown and Si Woo Kim) were the only players in the entire field at the American Express over par.
But if you were hoping for Scheffler to comment on that fact – to acknowledge his own greatness or, as Woods did so often, to stoke his own competitive aura? Well, you were left disappointed.
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Even after Sunday’s victory at the Amex, the magic number 20 that moved Scheffler clear within view of the two greatest players ever, the story from the man himself was familiar.
“I mean it’s pretty wild. It’s been a great start to my career and I’ve had some nice wins out here and it’s been special,” he said. “I try not to really think about that stuff really too much. I’m going to go home and get some rest and really rinse and repeat, and go from there.”
In the end, it was another sleepy, simple, lowkey victory for the best golfer in the world – another ho-hum win that altered the course of golf history … and snuck right under the nose of a distracted sports world.
Which, it turns out, is exactly how Scottie Scheffler likes it.
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