Inevitable Scottie Scheffler cruises to 20th PGA Tour title at American Express

Scottie Scheffler carded a final-round six-under 66 to cruise to his 20th PGA Tour title at The American Express.

The 29-year-old world number one finished the tournament on 27-under par, four strokes clear of a group of four players in second place that included Jason Day.

Scheffler, the reigning player of the year, began the day trailing South Korea's Si-Woo Kim by one stroke. 

It briefly looked as though Scheffler was going to be in a dog fight after he dropped a shot at the second hole and Kim made a birdie to extend his lead. 

But by the time Scheffler reached the 12th hole at the Pete Dye Stadium Course in California he had a five-shot advantage. 

"I mean, it's pretty wild," Scheffler told Golf Channel in the immediate aftermath of victory. 

"You know, it's been a great start to my career, and I've had some nice wins out here. 

"It's been special, and you know, I try not to really think about that stuff too much [being compared to Tiger Woods]. 

"Going into the season, I was just trying to do the things I need to do in order to be prepared to come out and play this week. 

"And you know, I'm gonna go home, get some rest, and kind of rinse and repeat—get ready to go. 

"My next tourname will be in Phoenix, so [I will] just go from there."

The margin of victory would have been even bigger had Scheffler not found the water with his tee shot at the par-three 17th and dropped two strokes. 

The victory is Scheffler's 20th since his breakout 2022 season. It means he now has lifetime membership on the PGA Tour. 

Scheffler's first PGA Tour title was the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. He is now a four-time major champion. 

Scheffler won the PGA Championship and The Open last season alongside four other individual titles. 

The only blemish on his year was an underwhelming performance at the Ryder Cup in which he became the first top-ranked player to lose all four of his opening matches. 

He salvaged some pride by defeating Rory McIlroy in his singles match. 

Scheffler is the heavy favourite to become the next male golfer to complete the career grand slam. 

Should Scheffler win the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in June, he would join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Woods and McIlroy in the history books.