Scottie Scheffler’s latest victory was a fantasyland escape from the fury of winter

There has always been a fantasy land atmosphere at Palm Springs’ annual golf tournament, the old and barren Desert Classic. You know: how is it possible that a golf tournament even exists? That was the case when the event was a five-lap pro-am with Bob Hope running the show, and it remains the case today, as is the four-lap American Express. Of course, no one told Scottie Scheffler, the best golfer in the world, that the AmEx is basically one big magic trick. He won the Amex on Sunday without any drama or fuss. He didn’t do cartwheels.

Scheffler, with his pirate beard and modest demeanor, does So not desert. But he golfed his ball over emerald green desert courses and slept rough in the color of hay and over artificial ponds, taking prisoners in his usual and genial manner. The future World Golf Hall of Fame inductee (Pinehurst, 2041) delivered a putting clinic on greens as smooth and flat as the felt of a new pool table. The only person who could have beaten him was Tiger 2000, and Tiger 2000 left the building. Scheffler doesn’t fill the void. He is Scheffler and that is more than enough.

I went to the desert to get a taste of this tournament – ​​with the golf carts with Bentley rooflines and IMAX sound systems – and maybe you did too. But this year I watched on TV, and I assume you did too. For nearly 70 years, this desert tournament has sold sunshine along with a parade of golfers and, in the past, celebrities. In 2026, that was as true as ever.

Outside, the streets of our neighborhood were still and silent as the snow continued to fall and swirl. There was no other option than to ‘shelter in place’. (Originally a Cold War expression.) But on TV, the fantasyland atmosphere was alive and well. Scheffler could beat the others handily, but the magic of TV is still the magic of TV. Without golf, professional golf would be lost. Thanks for your service, Scottie. A long Sunday is over.

In other golf news, Rory McIlroy (and many others) recently said he would like to see the British Open return to one of the best courses in the world, Muirfield, in Scotland, within sight and sound of the Firth of Forth. (Jack Nicklaus named his course outside Columbus, Ohio after it.) Others would like to see the Open return to Turnberry, now called Trump Turnberry. It’s a spectacular course, Hawaii on the rugged west coast of Scotland, where Tom Watson won the Opens in 2009 (well, he won something) and in 1977, by a shot over Nicklaus.

The R&A has shown no interest in being associated with Donald Trump. The PGA of America and the USGA are the same. The PGA Tour lands at Trump Doral at the end of April. LIV Golf will do the same in August, at the Trump Course in Bedminster, NJ. These facts of life, golf style, in our future news feed. They weren’t on Sunday. We could go into a little cocoon, at least for an afternoon. On Monday morning, four U.S. senators published an outraged letter they sent to the Interior Department seeking to uncover the Trump administration’s plans for public golf in the capital.

Augusta was covered in ice and snow this weekend. That’s news in Augusta, Georgia (the reference here) and of course not in Augusta, Maine. That’s bad news for construction at The Patch, the beloved Augusta muni. It’s good news for azalea viewers during Masters week. Warm winters lead to early flowering and that has been a problem for several years. It won’t be this year. Sunday April 12th should be beautiful. Rory will put a green jacket on someone, unless that someone is himself. Another day of cocoon life. Is that so bad? There’s actually a right answer: No, it’s not. It’s necessary.

Did you see this Blades Brown this weekend? Eighteen years old and he had a 60 putt on Saturday? On Sunday, he played with Scottie Scheffler and tried to play his way into this week’s tournament at Torrey Pines. Maybe you have teenagers at home. Maybe you wondered what you would do if you were the parent of a true golf expert with a teenager in the child’s age. McIlroy turned pro as a teenager. Arnold Palmer was almost 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 tournament against Bob Hope for the fifth time. He loved the desert, the escape from the snow and cold of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where he and Winnie raised their daughters, and even Bay Hill in Orlando, where citrus growers always worried about fruit-killing frosts this time of year. Winnie Palmer reluctantly followed Arnold to the desert – the whole fantasy land thing wasn’t for her – but she still enjoyed her winter outdoor swims. After the win, Scheffler, wife and child were eager to get on a plane and go home to Dallas, back to the real world. Dallas got snow and the asphalt roads were frozen, but that’s where Scheffler wanted to be. He’s a homebody, but his game travels well.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@golf.com