The wind picked up for the first time this week at the 2026 American Express Saturday, slowing down some of the scoring from the first 36 holes in La Quinta, California. That was evident at the top of the leaderboard, where Scottie Scheffler, fresh off rounds of 63 and 64, took on the tougher test of PGA West’s Stadium Course and shot a 4-under 68 to advance to the final round at 20 under.
Scheffler made his first bogey of the week on No. 3 and added another square to his card on the back nine. On the 18th hole, he had a poor approach from the fairway, and it looked like he was going to miss another shot, but he hit 8 meters to maintain his share of second place, and stayed in the second-to-last group on Sunday.
Scheffler made a tough par in the final round, closing in on Siu Kim, who shot a 66 at La Quinta Country Club, by one stroke, and overtook world No. 1 Scheffler to take the sole lead at 22 under par. Kim took advantage of calm conditions to climb to the top of the leaderboard with three consecutive birdies on the back nine in the late afternoon.
Joining Scheffler at 21 under is 18-year-old Blade Brown, who shot his own 68 on the Stadium Course to enter the final round that started the day, tying with the Texan. Brown, who just posted a 60 on Saturday, persevered through difficult conditions and a tough course, and will now get his first taste of competition Sunday at a PGA Tour event.
When asked what the best thing about Saturday was, Brown said, “Just staying flat.” “You go through so many emotions during a round. I was 1 under through the 15th hole, but I knew there were some guys coming up the leaderboard that were going to move up. I tried to put myself in as many birdie positions as possible, and I just happened to make three birdies on the way down.”
The trio will headline Sunday’s final round at the Stadium Course. The field has been narrowed down to the top 60, with tie-ups with pros who are no longer stuck in foursomes with amateur partners. Brown and Kim will play together in the final pair, with Scheffler in hot pursuit in the penultimate group, looking to apply pressure from the front hole all afternoon.
leader
1. Similar songs (-22): Despite starting the week with a 63-65 record, Kim was a bit of a forgotten man on Friday. Much of the focus has shifted to Brown’s performance, with nearly 59 shots, and Scheffler’s presence at the top of the leaderboard. However, Kim has had the most consistent performance this week, scoring 66 or better in all three rounds. He has proven throughout his career that he can go deep when he feels good. That was certainly the case this week, with the course of American Express’ rotation influencing his offensive style. His combination of ball striking and good putter makes him a real threat. And if there’s one thing we can hope for, it’s that he won’t start playing conservatively on Sunday to protect his lead.
contestant
T2. Scottie Scheffler, Blaise Brown (-21)
T4. Eric Cole, Windham Clark (-20)
T6. Tom Hoge, Matt McCarty, Andrew Putnam (-19)
9. JT Poston (-18)
T10. Patrick Cantlay and 4 others (-17)
Scheffler remains the favorite to win despite losing one stroke to Kim, and his 68 on Saturday at the Stadium Course felt like it came because he played as bad as possible. That should be the norm for the final round until the wind really picks up. Kim, Brown, and the rest of the chase group believe that 25-under par is the bare minimum if they want to beat Scheffler.
The story this week is incredible for Brown, who is about to play his eighth consecutive competitive round of golf after finishing in the top 20 at a Korn Ferry Tour event in the Bahamas earlier this week. It helps that he was able to recover so quickly at 18 years old, but Brown’s mental approach was particularly impressive. Saturday’s patience was rewarded with a hot finish, and Sunday he will have to deal with new tensions, but there is nothing in his performances so far to suggest he cannot embrace the moment.
Beyond the top three, Clark is the most threatening of the tracking group. He played his best round of the week on Friday at the Stadium Course and appears to be back on track in 2025 after a down year. He continued his good form with a 66 on Saturday and is looking for his first win in over a year.
Notable names that missed the cut
- Chris Kirk (-9)
- Will Zalatoris (-9)
- Tony Fiau (-9)
- Justin Rose (-8)
- Brian Herman (-7)
- Sepp Straka (-2)
- Akshay Bhatia (-1)
- Ludwig Oberg (WD — Illness)
Updated 2026 American Express odds and picks
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
- Scotty Scheffler (+100)
- Similarly (+200)
- Blade Brown (+800)
- Wyndham Clark (+1100)
- Eric Cole (+1700)
If Schefter is one stroke behind the lead, his chances of chasing the lead on Sunday will greatly increase. Clark is probably the best player on the board right now. Clark has the necessary gear to post low enough scores to win and looks very comfortable on the Stadium Course. I liked him as a threat to win on Friday, and his performance Saturday didn’t change my mind that he’ll be on the team until the end.
