The American Express Golf Tournament 2026: Live Leaderboard, Star-Studded Field & How to Watch

Scottie Scheffler is picking up right where he left off last season, firing 63-64 to share the halfway lead at The American Express with 18-year-old sensation Blades Brown at 17-under-par heading into today’s third round at PGA West’s Pete Dye Stadium Course. The world No. 1 has yet to make a bogey this week, torching La Quinta Country Club and the Nicklaus Tournament Course in calm desert conditions. His precision ball-striking now faces the tournament’s toughest test: the Stadium Course’s island-green par-3 17th and water-lined 18th—holes that routinely flip the leaderboard on moving day. Brown, the Tennessee teen who raced from the Bahamas Korn Ferry stop straight to California, authored Friday’s headline with a course-record 60 that came within one roll of golf history. Needing one more birdie for 59, he lipped-out from five feet on the ninth but still vaulted 50 places to tie Scheffler. Chasing Pack • Si Woo Kim (-16) matched the Stadium Course record for the week with a 65 and will try to reclaim the trophy he won here in 2021. • S.H. Kim and local favorite Matt McCarty sit two back at -15. • Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark, Harris English and Russell Henley headline a logjam at -14, exactly the kind of proven scorers who can turn the tournament on its head if Saturday stays wind-free. Cut Comes Tonight Because The American Express rotates across three layouts—La Quinta CC (7,060 yds), Nicklaus Tournament (7,147 yds) and the Stadium Course (7,210 yds)—the 54-hole cut won’t be set until this evening. Defending champion Sepp Straka (-6) and Open winner Brian Harman (-5) need low rounds to avoid an early exit. How to Watch • TV: Golf Channel, 4-7 p.m. ET (Sat-Sun) • Streaming: ESPN+ featured groups from noon ET; PGA TOUR LIVE all four rounds • Free option: Fubo offers a seven-day trial for cord-cutters. Saturday Tee-time to Circle 1:31 p.m. ET – Scheffler & Justin Rose (Stadium Course) Brown goes off 11 minutes earlier with amateur David Ford, giving the rookie a brief window to post a number before the world No. 1 turns for home. Desert Weather La Quinta is forecast to reach 73°F with light 5-10 mph NNW winds and virtually zero chance of rain—prime scoring conditions through Sunday. FedExCup & Purse This regular-season staple still dishes out 500 FedExCup points and $9.2 million, with $1.656 million earmarked for the champion. Scheffler, who astonishingly has never won in his first five starts of a calendar year, can rewrite that narrative and solidify his early-season No. 1 standing. Historical Context Six of the last seven winners in La Quinta have reached at least 23-under, but none opened with a lower 36-hole aggregate than Scheffler-Brown’s 127. Should the mark fall below -26 on Sunday, the 2024 record set by amateur Nick Dunlap could tumble again. SEO Sidebar – Key Phrases Readers Search Today • “The American Express live leaderboard” • “Scottie Scheffler PGA West score” • “Blades Brown PGA TOUR 60 round” • “How to watch The American Express 2026” • “PGA West Stadium Course hole 17 water” Bottom Line With ideal weather, soft greens and three attackable par-72s still on the card, expect fireworks all weekend in the Coachella Valley. Whether the seasoned Scheffler completes a wire-to-wire masterclass or the fearless Brown delivers a breakthrough that stuns the sport, The American Express is shaping up as the PGA Tour’s first must-watch thriller of 2026.