The win at the 2026 American Express gave Scottie Scheffler his 20th PGA Tour victory, making him the second youngest to achieve this feat. He also entered the $100 million career earnings list. The conditions at PGA West were harsh at times, with high winds, but Scheffler easily swept in the $9.2 million event, achieving yet another milestone, one that has given him a lifetime membership.

The 29-year-old is now the first Korn Ferry Tour alumnus to reach the 20-win threshold and earn a lifetime membership on the PGA Tour. This rule was amended in 2022, replacing the earlier requirement of 15 seasons on the Tour. That change has helped players like Scheffler, who broke into the pro circuit in 2018. His first PGA Tour win came in 2022, and just four years later, he has taken home his 20th.

But Scheffler’s speed in earning these wins is the standout. Every other lifetime member has arrived on the scene with routes that bypassed golf’s formal developmental system. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus turned pro with their stellar amateur resumes. Rory McIlroy, on the other hand, began his career on the European Tour. Dustin Johnson earned his card through Q-School. It is only Scottie Scheffler who has climbed this ladder exactly as designed.

After graduating from the University of Texas, Scheffler struggled in the Monday Qualifiers. He could only have limited early access to events. Then in 2018, he earned his KFT card through qualifying and secured a conditional Tour membership. His only full season at the KFT was in 2019, where he won three titles. He recorded ten top-10 finishes and earned Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year honors. Eventually, in 2020, he secured a fully exempt PGA Tour card.

Even those close to him admit that he never thought Scheffler would be able to achieve such a feat.

“I always knew Scottie could be successful if he could get through the PGA Tour…I didn’t know if he could get through the Korn Ferry Tour, I am being honest with you,” says his dad, Scott Scheffler Sr.

And with his American Express win, he has once again proved his caliber.

His performance at the La Quinta Golf Club was emphatic. Opening with rounds of 63 and 64, Scottie Scheffler finished at 27-under par, winning by 4-strokes. The margin might be controlled, but for Scheffler, this speaks volumes about the kind of rivalry he battled on the PGA West course, especially with Si Woo Kim and Blades Brown‘s initial dominance. Defeating them all, Scheffler took home a massive $1.65 million, making his official career earnings reach the $100 million mark.

With this win, nine of his 20 PGA Tour victories have now come by four shots or more. That’s a staggering 45% rate.

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Scottie Scheffler’s remarkable ability to avoid narrow wins

When Scheffler wins, he typically does so with commanding authority rather than narrow margins. There are stats to prove so.

Over his last 35 tournaments, Scottie Scheffler has shown a 40% winning rate. He has captured 14 victories in that span. In those same 35 tournaments, he has additionally recorded 16 top-10 finishes. Moreover, there have been three runner-up results and two third-place finishes. Overall, 23 finishes have resulted in top-five finishes.

At the same time, from his 151 PGA Tour starts, Scheffler has been able to make the cuts in 131 of them. Overall, he posted 77 top-10 finishes, recording a made-cut percentage of 87%. Former world No. 1 Jason Day, who finished T2 at the American Express, had once said that Scheffler’s performance reminds him of Tiger Woods’s early era.

“It’s not like we’re looking at Tiger, but he’s putting up Tiger-ish numbers,” he said as per The Mirror.

And this makes sense. For instance, Xander Schauffele has only collected six PGA Tour wins in the same time frame as that of Scheffler. At the same time, over the last five seasons, Scheffler has taken home twice the victories of his direct rival, Rory McIlroy.

Next in line is a career Grand Slam. If Scottie Scheffler ends up capturing the 2026 US Open title at Shinnecock Hills, he will join only six men in golf’s history to have all four majors. Again, at age 29, Scheffler would become the second-youngest to complete his career grand slam, behind only Woods, who did it at the age of 24.