Scheffler enters Tiger territory, Reed’s secret free agency?

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we break down Scottie Scheffler’s latest historic achievement and a strange Patrick Reed revelation.

Scottie Scheffler kicked off his 2026 season just as you might have imagined: with another victory. Scheffler shot a final-round 66 to win the American Express by four and claim his 20th career PGA Tour win. What did you think of Scheffler’s season debut? And if you are the rest of the Tour, what are you thinking?

Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): Forget what I think. How about what the 18-year-old playing alongside Scheffler on Sunday thinks! “One of the coolest things that I learned today was how underrated Scottie Scheffler’s short game is,” Blades Brown said after his buzz-kill fourth-round 74. “To see it in person and just to look at kind of the trajectory and the spin, and just the control that he has with his wedges and short game. Obviously his putting is insane too. It was really cool to watch.” I would concur — Scheffler’s 1.18 putts per green Sunday was best in the field. His 9 birdies were also impressive. Every time I looked up, it seemed Scheffler was spinning a wedge back to within four feet of the hole. Looked like a Golden Tee round. What is the rest of the Tour thinking? Probably. . . [sigh] here we go again.  

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): I know this deserves like a thousand qualifiers, because the American Express is historically one of the easiest tournaments relative to par, but Scottie won in a way we’ve never seen on Sunday. He didn’t just outweather his opponents; he outgunned them. He made nine birdies, and eight of them were converted from inside of five feet (!!!). He’s the third player ever (behind Tiger and Jack) to 20 wins and 4 majors before his 30th birthday — and to everyone else in golf, that should be … terrifying.

Josh Sens, senior writer, (@joshsens). To me, this looked like more of the same. A golfer with no physical weaknesses whose mental game is every bit as good. In this, a relatively low-wattage event, Scheffler proved again that unlike some other big guns in the game, he never takes a week off.

Scheffler won six times last year and seven the year before. If you are Vegas and deciding the over/under line for Scheffler wins in 2026, what are you setting it at?

Bastable: Feels like cheating given we already have one. Can he win five more? Of course! Six more? Maybe. Seven more would bring us to Tiger territory (TW won eight times in both 1999 and 2006). And eight more would bring us to Vijay Singh (2004) and Tiger again (2000) territory. Feels like a big ask. We’re setting the o/u at 6. What say ye, colleagues?!   

Colgan: Agreed, Basty. Six is the only rational number. But great athletes teach us to believe in the irrational. I don’t think eight is out of the question.

Sens: If the line is six, I’m all in on the over. One down already, with –if his past schedule repeats–upwards of 15 to 20 starts remaining? I’ll be collecting my money by late August.

Besides Scheffler taking control of the tournament, it was 18-year-old Blades Brown who made headlines earlier in the week. He received a sponsor’s exemption and made his 10th career PGA Tour start, shot 60 on Friday and was one off the lead after 54-holes before shooting 74 Sunday and falling out of the top 10. Was this finish an outlier? Or is Blades a name golf fans should expect to see more of?

Bastable: Outlier? Hardly! He’d already made three PGA Tour cuts heading into this week at an age at which most of his peers are less worried about staring down Scottie Scheffler on a Sunday afternoon than they are about prepping for their next pre-calc exam or landing a prom date. Blades sounds like he’s in full sponge mode. On Sunday evening, he said he could “write a book about what I’ve learned these past couple of days.” In pro golf, 18 is the new 28. There’s little reason to think we won’t see Blades playing more meaningful weekend golf on the PGA Tour this year.

Colgan: The finish wasn’t an outlier. Blades is a name that fans should remember. BUT — and there is a “but” — Sunday was a lesson in how much separates him from consistent PGA Tour success. I’m unbelievably impressed that, at 18 years old, his ceiling is already up there with the best in the sport. But careers are built on raising your floor.

Sens: Blades is no fluke. A name like that is destiny. Guess I shouldn’t have named my son “Shanks.” Poor kid never stood a chance.

Patrick Reed, days before he won the Dubai Desert Classic, told The Telegraph he’d consider rejoining the PGA Tour if allowed. Then, on Sunday morning, he revealed he has yet to re-sign with LIV Golf — whose season begins in less than two weeks. The Tour’s Returning Member Program specifically created pathways for major winners of the past four years, which Reed doesn’t fall under. Why wouldn’t the Tour be interested in Reed rejoining?

Bastable: Who says they’re not?! I think Brian Rolapp and Co. are interested in welcoming back any player who makes PGA Tour fields stronger and LIV fields weaker. Yes, the current framing of the RMP precludes a Reed return, but rules, as the PGA Tour has been proving of late, are made to be broken — or, at the very least, altered. Who knows where we’ll be in a year? When asked Sunday if he’s been talking to the PGA Tour, Reed said, “Not right now,” which suggests conversations have been happening. I, for one, miss P-Reed. However you feel about the guy, he makes tournaments more interesting.       

Colgan: That whole P-Reed back-and-forth was SO weird. If we’ve learned one thing from the Brooks and Bryson situations, it’s that LIV contracts are like every other negotiation — they’re all about leverage! Why is Reed surrendering his leverage by keeping his free agency a secret? I have no idea. But if his PGA Tour return odds are hampered, I’d bet it’s because he’s been operating under the cover of darkness.

Sens: Golf’s civil war is also a zero-sum game. I’m sure the Tour would be interested in getting Reed back for that reason. A win for Ponte Vedra equals a loss for LIV, and the other way around. My guess is that we won’t see that this year. He’s already exempt into the Masters, his world ranking is now solidly inside the top 50, and he’s just improved his market value in any negotiations with LIV. That’s another way of saying that he can likely have his cake and eat it too, resigning for big money without necessarily missing out on the majors.

Speaking of the Returning Member Program, next up on Tour is the Farmers Insurance Open where Brooks Koepka will make his long-awaited return to the PGA Tour. What are you most looking forward to hearing from Koepka about, and how do you expect him to play in his first start?

Bastable: I’m not sure we’ll get a whole lot from him — in the press tent, anyway. I would expect focused, tight-lipped Koepka in San Diego. And who knows what we’ll see on the course? The dirty little secret about Brooks is . . . he has not been playing well. He had just two top-10s on LIV in 2025 and both came in his first four starts. In his last four starts he finished no better than T29. Maybe he was unmotivated. Maybe he was distracted by personal issues. Maybe he was dreaming of his PGA Tour return. Hard to know with Brooks. What we do know is he has much to prove. Would it surprise me if he contends? It would not.  

Colgan: I’ve heard a few of Brooks’ LIV counterparts mention Koepka’s personal situation was a key component of his decision to return. I’m not expecting him to clue us in, but it would be nice to hear his on-the-record reasoning for returning to the Tour.

Sens: I’m trying to remember the last time I heard something truly revealing in a press conference. I don’t expect that to change when Koepka steps to the podium. But I expect him to play well, recent form be damned. If ever there was a guy who can turn it off and then back on when it matters to him, it’s Koepka.