Kicking off the West Coast Swing portion of the 2026 PGA Tour, The American Express tournament returns to La Quinta, California this week. Following a shorter stop in Hawaii at the Sony Open, golf returns to the mainland for a weekend of solid competition.

Five players are 8-under, four at 7-under and nine are 6-under. None of the 27 players within five shots of the lead are out of it by any stretch and will return to the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course for the final round on Dec. 14 where affairs will presumably get chaotic as they battle for the PGA Tour cards that will be awarded to the top five.

Sony Open R1 Scores: Nick Taylor and Kevin Roy lead the way in the PGA Tour's first event of the 2026 season. Nick Taylor and Kevin Roy surged into a share of the lead after the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. The tournament marks the start of the 2026 PGA Tour season.

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot at the fifth hole during the final round of the American Express golf event on the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in La Quinta, Calif. (AP Photo/Ross D.