There has always been an air of fantasy in the annual golf edition Palm Springs TourOld and dry Desert Classic. You know: How is there even a golf tournament there? That used to be the case when the event was a five-round pro-am with Bob Hope running the show, and it’s still true now, as the four-round American Express. Of course, no one told him that Scottie Schefflerthe best golfer in the world, that AmEx really is one big magic trick. He won the Amex on Sunday without drama or fanfare. He didn’t do any cartwheels.
Scheffler, with his pirate beard and unassuming demeanor, is thus not desert. But he tossed his golf ball off emerald-green desert fairways and rough hay-colored sleepers and over man-made ponds, taking prisoners in his usual, genial way. The future World Golf Hall of Fame the inductee (Pinehurst, 2041) put on a putting clinic with greens as smooth and flat as felt on a new pool table. The only person who could have beaten him was Tiger 2000, and Tiger 2000 has left the building. Scheffler isn’t filling the void. He is becoming a Scheffler and that is more than enough.
I’ve gone to the desert to try this tour — taking golf carts with Bentley rooflines and IMAX sound systems — and maybe you have, too. But this year I saw it on TV, and I think you saw it too. For nearly 70 years, this desert tour has sold sunshine along with a parade of players and, at the time, celebrities. In 2026 this was as true as ever.
Outside, the streets of our neighborhood were silent and still as the snow continued to fall and swirl. He had no choice but to “shelter in place”. (Originally a Cold War phrase.) But on TV, the fantasy vibe was alive and well. Scheffler could easily beat the others, but TV magic is still TV magic. Professional golf would be lost without him. Thanks for your service, Scottie. A long Sunday has come and gone.
In other golf news, Rory McIlroy (among many others) said the other day he would like to see the British Open return to being one of the best courses in the world, Muirfieldin Scotland, within sight and sound of the Firth of Forth. (Jack Nicklaus named his course outside Columbus, Ohio, for him.) Others would like to see the Open return to Turnberry, now called Trump Turnberry. It’s a spectacular course, Hawaii on Scotland’s rugged West Coast, where Tom Watson won Opens in 2009 (well, he won something) and in 1977, by one stroke over Nicklaus.
The R&A has shown no interest in being associated with Donald Trump. PGA of America and USGA, same thing. The PGA Tour will arrive at Trump Doral in late April. LIV Golf will do the same in August at the Trump Course in Bedminster, NJ These facts of life, golf style, in our upcoming news feed. On Sunday, they weren’t. We could go into a little cocoon, at least for an afternoon. On Monday morning, four U.S. senators released an angry letter they sent to the Department of the Interior, seeking to reveal the Trump administration’s plans for public golf in the capital.
Over the weekend, Augusta found itself covered in ice and snow. This is news in Augusta, Ga., (reference here) and not, of course, Augusta, Maine. This is bad news for the construction work going on at The Patch, the beloved Augusta muni. There’s good news for azalea watchers coming into Masters week. Warm winters lead to early flowering and this has been a problem for several years. It won’t be this year. Sunday 12th April should be magnificent. Rory will wear a green coat on someone, unless that someone is herself. Another day living in a cocoon. Is it that bad? There is actually a correct answer: No, it is not. It is necessary.
Did you watch this? Brown blades over the weekend? Eighteen years old and he had a putt for 60 on Saturday? On Sunday he played Scottie Scheffler and tried to play his way into this week’s tournament at Torrey Pines. Maybe you have teenagers at home. Maybe you’ve found yourself wondering what you would do if you were the parent of a true golf genius with a TEENAGERS at the age of the child. McIlroy turned pro as a teenager. Arnold Palmer was nearly 25 when he turned pro, after stints in the Coast Guard and as a paint salesman in Cleveland. His first full year on tour was in 1955.
In 1973, he won the Bob Hope Tour for the fifth time. He loved the wilderness, the respite from the snow and the cold of Latrobe, Pa., where he and Winnie raised their daughters, and even Bay Hill, in Orlando, where citrus growers always worried about frost that killed the fruit this time of year. Winnie Palmer followed Arnold into the wilderness with some reluctance—the whole fantasy thing wasn’t for her—but she loved her winter outdoor swims all the same. In victory, Scheffler and his wife and child were eager to board their plane and head home to Dallas, back to the real world. It was snowing in Dallas and the asphalt was icy, but Scheffler wanted to be here. He’s a local, but his game travels well.
Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@golf.com
;)
