The 2026 American Express already started with a crazy storm of records and incidents. Fans watched in shock as star players like Ludvig Åberg and Nick Dunlap suddenly withdrew from the tournament. Young Blades Brown showed everyone that talent knows no age by shooting a course-record 60 on Friday. But amidst these records, perhaps the most interesting one was yet to happen.

During the third round, the cameras spotted something that truly caught everyone off guard. A mysterious figure wearing a Darth Vader mask followed World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler amid a small crowd in La Quinta, California. For the uninitiated, Darth Vader is a famous pop culture icon from Star Wars.

The World No. 1 appeared laser-focused on his shot, wearing his navy Nike polo while “Darth Vader” trailed him. At the time, Scheffler sat at 20-under par and fought to take the lead. It’s not clear if Darth Vader tried to influence the ‘Force’ to trouble the World No.1. Even if he did, Scheffler’s game suggests the Sith Lord wasn’t successful.

Scottie Scheffler started his day strong after finishing the second round tied for the lead at 17-under par. Despite starting with a bogey, he carded three quick birdies and moved to 19-under very early. By the 15th hole, he reached the 20-under mark and tied for third, only trailing Si Woo Kim and Blades Brown by one and two shots, respectively, when the cameras finally spotted the masked figure nearby.

The popular golf account “Flushing It” quickly posted a photo of this “Sith Lord” following Scottie Scheffler, captioning it, “There’s a dude in the crowd following round Scottie Scheffler at the AmEx with a Darth Vader mask on 😅.” Scheffler eventually finished at 21-under for T2 after 54 holes.

While Star Wars fans celebrate by dressing up as fictional characters from the movie franchise occasionally, it mostly happens on May 4 (the official Star Wars Day), and has rarely been seen on a golf course.  Fans dressing up as Star Wars characters have mostly been limited to college football and NFL games. The golf fan surely did something unique.

Quite naturally, this funny post immediately garnered a lot of reactions from the fans.

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Let’s see how fans reacted to the galactic intruder

The internet exploded with hilarious thoughts after seeing Darth Vader on the sunny California fairway. One worried fan noticed a sudden change in the superstar’s amazing luck during the third round. “Definitely got a hex on him today,” The fan said. This comment followed the Texas Titan’s shocking two bogeys on the 3rd and 13th holes of the course. The mistake ended his incredible 32-hole bogey-free streak that started back on the very first day.

The quiet gallery at the Stadium Course made this mysterious stalker look much more obvious. So one fan wrote, “Such a small crowd, good chance of becoming memorable.”

Some people used humor to guess who was hiding behind that famous black mask, writing, “It’s Blades…” Fans joked that 18-year-old Blades Brown wore the costume to scare his big rival away today. Brown had his own special fan moment as well. The teenage prodigy started the weekend tied with the World No. 1 after a historic 60 and successfully held his one-shot lead to finish the round.

One clever fan compared the scary stalker to a famous character from a classic comedy show. He wrote, “Crazy Joe D vibes”. This comment refers to “Crazy” Joe Davola from Seinfeld, who stalked people while wearing a mask.

Another viewer pointed out how out of place a movie villain looks near a professional green. He wrote, “He’s obviously lost 🤣”. This simple joke reminds us that Darth Vader usually belongs on a giant spaceship in a galaxy far, far away, not in California.

Well, as of now, it’s not clear whether Darth Vader tried to persuade Scheffler to join the dark side of the Force or not. The only trouble he faced was the wind and firm greens, both of which he tackled deftly.