While Scottie Scheffler's victory grabbed headlines, the real story was unfolding quietly.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler made it look routine at The American Express, finishing at 27-under to win in his first start of the 2026 PGA Tour season on Sunday in Southern California.

Meanwhile, Sahith Theegala signed off with a strong closing round at the Pete Dye Stadium Course. After a season disrupted by injuries, Sahith Theegala is now back on the course in 2026, looking to reset.

Theegala opened with a 33 on the front nine and followed it with a 32 on the back, carding a 7-under 65 for the day. He was 3-under at the turn and kept adding birdies on the way in to finish the round at 7-under.

That finish made it two solid starts to begin 2026. He opened the year with a tie for 31st at the Sony Open in Hawaii (-6) and followed it with a tie for eighth at The American Express (-21).

Theegala has framed the season as a reset, with a goal of moving back inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. For now, his route to the 2026 majors remains open. 

He hasn’t qualified yet, but a PGA Tour win or a climb up the world rankings would put him in position.

Next, he’s expected to keep a busy early schedule with the Farmers Insurance Open and the WM Phoenix Open on deck.

That outlook marks a shift from last season, when his year was interrupted by health setbacks.

Sahith Theegala’s 2025 season was filled with setbacks

In 2025, Sahith Theegala dealt with neck and oblique issues that limited his schedule and results, and he later described it as a “lost season.”

Theegala’s 2025 setbacks began with an oblique injury in February. As he tried to play through it, he adjusted his swing and later developed a neck injury in May. 

That stretch led to withdrawals from the Truist Championship and the PGA Championship, along with missed starts at the U.S. Open and the RBC Canadian Open.

After aggravating the issue again at the Memorial in late May, he took six weeks off and missed a large part of the season.

He ended the year No. 147 in the FedExCup standings, missing the playoffs for the first time, and his world ranking fell from around 13th to outside the top 100.

Can Sahith Theegala keep it going at the Farmers and Phoenix?

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu