(The story has been updated with additional information)
Still recovering from minor hand surgery after a Christmas cooking accident, Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 ranked player in men’s professional golf, has announced on social media that he will not play in The American Express PGA Tour event in La Quinta next week.
“After consulting with my medical team, I have made the decision to withdraw from next week’s American Express tournament to give my injury more time to heal,” Scheffler posted on his X account. “I am still hopeful to begin my 2025 season at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.”
After the Christmas Day accident that left some glass in his hand, Scheffler had surgery to remove the glass and announced he would skip The Sentry tournament in Hawaii last week, the season-opening event on the PGA Tour.
At the time, Scheffler said he planned on starting his year at The American Express in La Quinta, a tournament he has played the last five years and a tournament he credited with helping to jumpstart his career in 2022. Scheffler went on to win four tournaments that year, two in 2023 and seven in 2024. In each of those years, Scheffler was the PGA Tour player of the year.
“I think I was outside the cut line by maybe three shots with three holes to go over on Stadium Course (at PGA West), and I chipped in for eagle on 16, and made a 30-footer for birdie on 18 to make the cut on the number,” Scheffler said before the 2024 tournament about the spark he found at the 2022 event. “Then I went out on Sunday and had a really good round, I finished 20th or 25th, something like that. Then, after that, it kind of jumpstarted the rest of my year.”
Scheffler’s appearance next week would have marked the first time since the start of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986 that the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the rankings both played in the desert’s tournament in the same year.
World No. 2 Xander Schauffele is already committed to the event to be played Jan. 16-19 at three courses in La Quinta.
“It’s disappointing that he is unable to join with us next week but certainly understand his decision. This kind of stuff happens in the game of golf and in sports unfortunately every single week,” said Pat McCabe, executive director of The American Express. “With that being said, we still hang our hat on the level of field that we have.”
The tournament currently has eight of the top 25 golfers in the world and 10 of the top 30 as well as past major champions like Jason Day and Zach Johnson who are outside of the top 30. Defending champion Nick Dunlap is 32nd in the ranking.
Scheffler first played in The American Express in 2020, his rookie season, when he posted a third-place finish. He has returned each year since, praising the desert event for its weather and its well-conditioned courses, particularly the greens on the three layouts used in the event.
By missing The Sentry and The American Express, Scheffler will not start his season until the AT&T event at Pebble Beach on Jan. 30-Feb. 2.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Scottie Scheffler withdraws from PGA Tour’s American Express after hand surgery
