New season, same (or potentially better?) Scottie Scheffler. Joseph LaMagna will get to his performance in a minute, as well as a few other takeaways from the weekend of professional golf. But first, we wanted to solicit reflections from our own Cameron Hurdus – a brilliant golf mind – after he watched the American Express following a recent trip to photograph the Stadium Course at PGA West just over a week ago. Let's get to it.

Pro-Am Setup

The first time I saw Pete Dye’s Stadium Course, co-host of this week’s Amex, was when I had the chance to play it last April. The winds blew 15-30 miles per hour all day. Needless to say, it was really hard! Despite its current reputation on Tour as a birdiefest, I think what still makes it extremely difficult for average players, particularly with the recent green expansions, is the severity of missing in the wrong spots. Compounding mistakes is easy to do, especially if you’re short-sided.

If the Tour’s setup team was allowed to push the envelope, I do think this course would provide a fun early-season watch (or more fun). But as Garrett Morrison pointed out on his latest episode of Designing Golf, the pro-am format will never allow for that. Throw in perfect greens, typical dome-like January conditions, and the additional 40 yards they drive the ball compared to when the course opened in 1986, and you’re left with a “Piece of Sh*& F*$#ing setup. Putting contest week.”

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Design in the Modern Age

Although there are probably more differences than similarities, for the sake of the discussion, it might be worth comparing Pete Dye’s two most famous 1980s Stadium Courses. I think what PGA West struggles to do – and what TPC Sawgrass succeeds in (something that’s helped it remain more relevant) – is create genuine discomfort off the tee. Sawgrass does this with fairways that run out and ones that sit at fairly extreme angles so that misses short, as well as long, will find trouble. A well-shaped drive that also carries a certain distance is required to find many of the fairways. While there’s a slightly angled nature to many of the tee shots at PGA West, most feel pretty straight, and the acreage past its 1980s-era fairway bunkers is so expansive, and the dormant Bermuda so benign, that today’s stock knuckle fade can roll for miles without any real fear.

A Hole That Works

No. 12 is a hole I’d love to watch over four days with four different pin positions and a few different tee boxes. There was a fair amount of variety in the strategy guys took off the tee last week. A few tried to bash their tee shots greenside, while many others laid back for a full wedge to a front pin or pushed it a little further down the fairway to a back pin.

A Hole that Doesn’t Really Work

No. 7. Sure, it takes driver out of players’ hands, but it also just hands them a wedge. So it really doesn’t matter where these guys hit it off the tee on this hole. –Cameron Hurdus

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Scheffler Starts Year With a Bang

Scottie Scheffler entered Sunday of the American Express one back of Si Woo Kim on a jam-packed leaderboard. Eighteen holes later, he won the tournament by four, a gap that could have been wider had Scheffler not dumped his approach shot on 17 into the water.

Per the PGA Tour, Scheffler is officially the first player since Tiger Woods to reach 20 PGA Tour wins before his 30th birthday. Since March of 2024, Scheffler has won 16 tournaments, including three major championships, an Olympic gold, and a Players Championship. Once a weakness, his much-improved putting carried over into the new year, as he gained strokes putting in both of his ShotLink-measured rounds at the Stadium Course. Most impressive, however, was Scheffler’s excellent iron play. On Sunday alone, he hit five approach shots from outside 75 yards inside 4.5 feet, highlighted by a 170-yard short iron stuffed to 13 inches on the par-4 third hole. Not too much rust for a season debut.

Expectations for Scheffler’s season were already high, but his performance in the desert only reinforces that we are likely witnessing an all-time great at the height of his powers. Might he have another level to which he can ascend? As improbable as it may seem, Scheffler’s 2026 season could end up being the best season of his career to date.  

A 2026 Break-Out Candidate

Correctly predicting breakout professional golfers is nearly impossible, but I’d like to nominate Ryan Gerard. Over his last three pro starts, the 26-year-old former Tar Heel has notched three consecutive runner-up finishes at the Mauritius Open on the DP World Tour, the Sony Open, and the American Express. In 2025, Gerard’s first season on the PGA Tour, he routinely shredded fields from tee to green, riding solid ball-striking performances to a win at the Barracuda Championship, a runner-up at the Texas Valero Open, and a top-10 at the PGA Championship.

Unfortunately for Gerard, if you’re reading this, you’re probably a better putter than he is – unless, of course, Doug Ghim or Rico Hoey happens to be a Fried Egg Golf newsletter subscriber. Despite the putting flaws, Gerard continues to climb the professional ranks and is worth keeping an eye on throughout 2026.

Free Agent Reed Prevails in Dubai

Over on the DP World Tour, Patrick Reed clipped the field by four to win the Hero Dubai Desert Classic after sleeping on the 54-hole lead. In his post-tournament presser, he revealed that he has yet to finalize his LIV Golf contract for the upcoming season. Reed’s comments opened the door to speculation on where he may potentially play in ‘26, though he noted he’d be “surprised” if he doesn’t agree to terms with LIV by the start of the season on February 4.

If I were PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, I’d make a phone call to Reed as quickly as possible to inquire about his interest level in a return, especially given Reed’s recent comments declaring the PGA Tour the “best Tour in the world.” The 2018 Masters champion is one of the few talents on LIV who would immediately elevate both the competitiveness of PGA Tour fields and fan interest in the Tour. Who doesn’t want to watch Patrick Reed in contention on Sunday?

The obvious question becomes: what status on the PGA Tour would Patrick Reed have? The PGA Tour Returning Member Program – Brooks Koepka’s vehicle back to the Tour – carves out status only for major and Players Championship winners between 2022-25. It does not apply to Reed.

The answer: who cares? Find status for him. Create an exemption category called “Winner of the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open.” There are no rules. If you believe Reed – or any other high-achieving player, for that matter – benefits your Tour, just make it happen.

Pressing Pause on the Rollback

Last but not least, in professional and recreational golf news, the USGA and R&A are reportedly considering delaying the golf ball rollback until 2030. Originally, the modest rollback was set to be implemented in 2028 for professional golfers before taking effect at all levels in 2030.

Evidently, a two-phase rollout could spark mass confusion and hysteria across the globe. Recreational golfers in 2029 might not be sure if they’re playing the same golf ball as Patrick Cantlay during the two-year Window of Distress and might therefore quit the game altogether, causing irreparable harm to the sport. Another supposed area of concern raised by key stakeholders was the difficulty of regulating competitive events across all levels with multiple ball types available for purchase, along with the challenge placed on equipment manufacturers forced to maintain two separate product lines. If only Einstein were still alive….

In related news, both Andrew Putnam and Blades Brown narrowly missed putts for 59 on Friday evening at the American Express.  –Joseph LaMagna