“It's a fun event” - Scottie Scheffler lauds the ‘really relaxed’ environment at The American Express 2024
Scottie Scheffler is happy to return to The American Express for another year. The American golfer will make his second start of the new season, coming off the back of a fifth-place finish at The Sentry in Hawaii two weeks ago. Ahead of the event, the World No. 1 has come out to tag it a “fun event to play.” Scheffler said he enjoys the “really relaxed” environment here.
The 27-year-old, who has three top-25 finishes in four appearances at the California event, compared the event to The Sentry. He dubbed the La Quinta Country Club better than Kapalua due to the conditions.
Scheffler said that the players “don’t get a good feel for where your game is at,” due to the winds blowing from the Hawaiian volcanos. He said that The American Express outing provides players with a “really good gauge” of their game.
Speaking in the pre-event press conference at the La Quinta Country Club, Scottie Scheffler said, as quoted by USA Today:
"I think it's a really relaxed event. I think the crowds are actually pretty good size for being spread around three courses. It's a fun event to play for that reason…
"Kapalua (The Sentry) is a great, fun event, but you don't really get a good feel for where your game is at. You're playing on the side of a volcano, basically, and the wind's blowing hard, and it's a different type of golf course. Come here to the desert, there's not many conditions, you get a really good gauge of where my game's at going into the rest of the year.”
It is pertinent to note that The American Express is infamous for recording low scores. For the unversed, the four-day scoring record at the event is 28 under by Patrick Reed in 2014. Despite the reputation, Scheffler seems confident going into the weekend.
Scottie Scheffler says The American Express 2022 paved his rise to World No.1
Interestingly, Scheffler claims that two good rounds at The American Express 2022 helped his rise to the top of the world rankings. According to the golfer, his confidence got a major boost at the PGA Tour event.
Scottie Scheffler said:
“I was outside the cut line by maybe three shots with three holes to go over on Stadium Course (at PGA West), and I chipped in for eagle on 16, and made a 30-footer for birdie on 18 to make the cut on the number. Then I went out on Sunday and had a really good round (a 67), I finished 20th or 25th, something like that.
“It kind of jumpstarted the rest of my year. I won in Phoenix a couple weeks after that, and kind of started my run there in 2022.”
Notably, Scottie Scheffler's in-form run in 2022 included a Masters win. The golfer also won the PGA Tour Player of the Year title that year, which he successfully retained in 2023. He will once again go up against a stacked 156-player field at the La Quinta Country Club this weekend.