The drive for an exceptional 2026 season is off to a rousing start for Scottie Scheffler, who began his year with a championship at the American Express a week ago Sunday in La Quinta, Calif.

That title was the 20th of Scheffler’s career, which earned him lifetime status on the PGA Tour. Nonetheless, the 29-year-old is wasting no time chasing No. 21 as the Phoenix Open tees off Thursday.

The Scottsdale, Ariz. event is famous for its crowd involvement, and Scheffler welcomes the big stage.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing this type of test,” he said. “I think this golf course plays really well when it comes tournament time. It plays firm and fast and you got to hit a lot of different shots and you got to be very precise with your ball, but then there is also a big crowd that comes with it as well.

“I think it’s always a lot of fun to play in front of a group this size. It can be a bit hectic out there sometimes, but it really is a lot of fun.”

Scheffler is certainly familiar with the setup as a two-time winner at this event (2022, 2023), though he’ll also be hoping to improve on last year’s respectable showing, a 9-under performance that left him in a tie for 25th.

The first of his Phoenix championships was the first of his PGA career.

“Yeah, it doesn’t feel all that long ago, but at the same time, it feels like quite a bit of time has passed since then,” Scheffler acknowledged. “Yeah, lots of good memories. It’s nice to come back to this tournament. This tournament is a lot of fun for me to play in and it’s fun to be able to play in front of this crowd.”

His competition will naturally be a bigger concern than the crowd or his history on the course, and Brooks Koepka is once again a part of that field, continuing his return from LIV Golf.

Scheffler expressed appreciation for having Koepka and Patrick Reed back on the Tour.

“Having those guys competing out here is great for the Tour, great for the fans, and great for our sponsors,” Scheffler said. “I think the last few years — there has just been a lot of the noise, and so I think getting those guys back is another step towards us just being able to play golf again. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most.”

Part of embracing the challenge of winning another championship, Scheffler explained, is leaning into the razor-thin margin between delight and disaster on the finishing holes.

A course like TPC Scottsdale demands excellence late and, for Scheffler, that’s all part of the fun.

“You have to play well at the end. I think this golf course is one of those — one of the best ones we see all year in terms of an exciting finish,” Scheffler said. “There is opportunity, but also a lot of danger. You look at even the second shot on 15. If you hit a really good shot there, you can get a really good look for eagle, but if you hit a poor shot you’re going to be in the water staring bogey in the face.

“So there is a lot of variety, and I think it’s a fantastic finish that provides a great amount of opportunity — but also can be pretty severe penalties as well.”

–Field Level Media

Aden Holloway scored 20 points to help Alabama outlast Texas A&M and come away with a thrilling 100-97 victory Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Holloway scored 16 of his points in the second half, making 9 of 12 free throws to overcome a 1-for-6 perimeter performance, and also had six rebounds and four assists for Alabama (15-7, 5-4 Southeastern Conference).

Labaron Philon Jr. added 17 points, Latrell Wrightsell chipped in 16 with four made 3-pointers, and Amari Allen and Houston Mallette tallied 12 points apiece to lead the Crimson Tide, who won despite being outshot from the floor (49.2% to 44.9%) and 3-point range (41.9% to 33.3%).

Rylan Griffen, whose career began at Alabama, scored 17 points with nine rebounds but missed a game-tying three at the buzzer for Texas A&M (17-5, 7-2), which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Rashaun Agee contributed a game-high 21 points for the Aggies, and Marcus Hill added 18 on 8-of-13 shooting with six rebounds.

The battle of two of the three highest-scoring offenses in the SEC lived up to the slugfest hype. The teams combined for 29 made three-pointers and 12 turnovers, and the game saw 28 lead changes and 13 ties, with neither team ever holding a double-digit-point lead.

Trailing 77-71 with 8:44 left, the Crimson Tide went on a 19-6 run capped off by an 8-0 surge in 1:18 of game time to take a 90-83 lead with 4:29 left.

The Aggies bounced back immediately with a 10-2 run to reclaim the lead, 93-92, with two minutes left before Alabama’s final surge to take a 99-95 lead with 22 seconds left on Holloway’s layup.

A first half predominantly played within a one-score margin fittingly entered halftime tied at 46 after Wrightsell’s buzzer three.

That was also a fitting end to the half considering each finished the opening 20 minutes with nine made 3-pointers. Wrightsell led the Crimson Tide with three, while Griffen, Agee and Hill made two apiece for the Aggies.

Texas A&M was far more efficient from the floor (52.9%) than Alabama (38.9%) in the first half, but the Crimson Tide made up the difference by holding a 13-4 free-throw attempt advantage.

London Jemison led Alabama with 10 first-half points on 4-of-4 shooting, and Hill led the Aggies with 10 points.

–Field Level Media

Jaylen Crocker-Johnson recorded 22 points and seven rebounds and Minnesota halted a seven-game slide with an impressive 76-73 upset victory over No. 10 Michigan State on Wednesday night in Big Ten play at Minneapolis.

Cade Tyson scored 17 points and Langston Reynolds added 14 points and eight assists as the Golden Gophers (11-12, 4-8 Big Ten) never trailed during the surprising takedown of the Spartans. Bobby Durkin had 13 points and eight rebounds and Isaac Asuma added 10 points for Minnesota, which got its first victory since Jan. 6.

Coen Carr scored 16 points, Jordan Scott added 15 and Trey Fort had 12 on four 3-pointers for Michigan State (19-4, 9-3), which lost its second consecutive game. Jeremy Fears Jr. had 10 points and 11 assists for the Spartans.

Michigan State trailed by 16 with just over four minutes remaining before closing the gap with a 20-6 surge.

Carr’s putback dunk got the Spartans within single digits with 1:35 left and Scott drilled a 3-pointer to bring Michigan State within 69-63 with 59.6 seconds left.

After Tyson split two free throws, Fort knocked down a trey to bring the Spartans within 70-66 with 46.9 seconds to play.

Fort drained another trey with 19.6 seconds left as the Spartans crept within 73-71.

Asuma made two free throws with 15 seconds left to give Minnesota a four-point lead. Michigan State’s Jaxon Kohler missed a 3-pointer with just over seven seconds left. Reynolds got the rebound, was fouled and split two free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining as the Golden Gophers held on.

Minnesota shot 47.8% from the field, including 10 of 21 from behind the arc.

The Spartans held a 39-23 rebounding edge while shooting 44.8% and making 9 of 24 from behind the arc.

Michigan State trailed by 11 at the break but later used an 11-5 run to move within 43-38 on a 3-pointer by Scott.

Minnesota scored 12 of the game’s next 17 points. Tyson capped it with a 3-pointer to give the Golden Gophers a 55-43 advantage with 8:51 left.

Tyson’s three-point play and a driving basket by Reynolds pushed the Minnesota lead to 60-47 with 7:01 left.

Reynolds later converted a three-point play to give Minnesota a 67-51 lead with 4:08 to play.

Durkin hit a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to give Minnesota a 32-21 halftime advantage.

The Golden Gophers started fast and led 12-3 after Durkin’s trey with 15:12 left in the half.

Fort hit a 3-pointer to bring the Spartans within 26-21 with 2:09 left. However, Asuma converted a three-point play with 1:39 to go prior to Durkin’s trey to push the margin to 11.

–Field Level Media