(Photo credit: Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

The slightly altered start to the 2026 PGA Tour schedule has become a boon for The American Express.

Several top players who normally would have debuted at The Sentry, the since-canceled tournament on Maui, will hit their first tee shots of the season at The American Express on Thursday in La Quinta, Calif.

That includes World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and seven more players inside the top 13 in the Official World Golf Ranking, plus young stars like Sweden's Ludvig Aberg, Max Homa and English major champ Matt Fitzpatrick.

It will be the first time since the Ryder Cup that Scheffler's game will be tested in an official tournament setting.

'I think there's always ways to improve. I think you can always get sharper, pretty much in all areas of the game,' Scheffler said. 'Last year I saw some improvements in some areas that I really enjoyed, and I'm hoping to expand on those, and I think you can always get a little bit better.'

That should worry his competitors, as Scheffler won six tournaments in 2025, including two majors and the BMW Championship playoff event. He finished in the top 10 at his past 15 official events.

Scheffler and his peers will play three par-72 courses -- one round apiece at the Pete Dye Stadium Course, the Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club -- over the first three days in a pro-am format. Rather than a 36-hole cut, it's a 54-hole cut to the top 65 players and ties ahead of the final round Sunday at the Pete Dye Stadium Course.

Sepp Straka of Austria is back to defend his title. His two-shot win over Justin Thomas in 2025 laid the foundation for an outstanding year, as he won a signature event in May and played for the victorious European Ryder Cup team.

'In golf, every time you're in the hunt, it's going to be a little bit of a different experience. You're chasing with one guy ahead of you is different than chasing with three or four guys ahead of you,' Straka said. '(Last year I) kind of leaned on the fact that I wasn't going to feel very good out there and just had to try to execute golf shots regardless of how I was feeling about them.'

Another player to watch is Will Zalatoris, making his first start on tour since the 2025 PGA Championship. Ongoing back issues forced him to take off the rest of the season and undergo disk replacement surgery.

Once No. 7 in the world rankings, with a terrific record at the majors, Zalatoris enters 2026 as something of a dark horse.

'This time around, I'm pushing myself in the gym harder than I ever have,' Zalatoris said. 'I'm able to do the things that I haven't been able to do for years. So I know that's kind of a weird thing to say at 29 years old, but obviously you know what I've been through for the last three, four, five years.

'The mental side of it was very tough. Leaving the PGA, not knowing if that was going to be my last professional golf tournament, given all the issues that I had had. But I would say that it only just gives you more appreciation when you come back out here.'

--Field Level Media