Top 10 power rankings in 2022 The American Express

All the talk about “When is Scottie Scheffler going to get his first PGA Tour win?” could’ve been squashed back in his rookie season in 2019-2020. The former Texas Longhorn standout was the 54-hole co-leader at the 2020 American Express thanks to rounds of 65-64-66.

A 2-over-par start through six holes on Sunday put Scheffler into a hole he couldn’t climb out of. He was bogey-free the rest of the way with birdies on No. 7 and No. 8 and an eagle on No. 16, but it was too little too late. He settled for solo third place, his highest pro finish at the time.

As we all know, more of the same continued as the 25-year-old has 14 worldwide top-10s since 2020.

One of those did not come at the 2021 The American Express. Scheffler posted 72-71 to miss the cut by a shot. I like for him to bounce back in 2022, especially with rest on his side. He did not qualify for the Sentry Tournament of Champions and wisely skipped the Sony Open, an event with a short, narrow golf course not befitting of his game.

Scheffler can mash the ball, and there’s plenty of room to do that at PGA West and La Quinta CC.

He was 17th on the PGA Tour last season in strokes gained off the tee (.515) and second in total driving, which combines distance rank (36th) and accuracy rank (65th). He was also seventh in birdie average (4.39) and 28th in SG around the green (.249).

While not a winner yet, he proved himself in a high-pressure situation by going 2-0-1 at the Ryder Cup. The quality of competition here at The American Express is far lower than what was at Whistling Straits, so maybe this is where Scheffler cashes in before competition stiffens later on the West Coast swing.