The Future Competitions Committee wants fewer events with deeper fields. The World No. 1 just made his case for the opposite by showing up in La Quinta. Scottie Scheffler opened his 2026 season at The American Express on Wednesday, laughing off questions about the PGA Tour’s impending overhaul. “If you want those answers, you got the wrong guy,” he said, smiling.
But his presence spoke louder than any policy statement. The 156-player pro-am—a format the committee’s “scarcity” model threatens to eliminate—is exactly what Scheffler says he needs.
“You get to come here, kind of see where your game’s at,” he explained. “You’ve got to be sharp around this place in order to make enough birdies to compete. It’s a good way to gauge where I’m at to start the year.”
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The committee wants an appointment viewing. Scheffler wants reps. The tension between those visions now has a face.