PGA WEST Nicklaus Tournament Course
PGA WEST Nicklaus Tournament Course: Jack Nicklaus (1987). Par 72, 7,147 yards. Scottie Scheffler won the 2026 American Express here with 261 (−27).
PGA WEST Nicklaus Tournament Course: Jack Nicklaus (1987). Par 72, 7,147 yards. Scottie Scheffler won the 2026 American Express here with 261 (−27).
PGA WEST Nicklaus Tournament Course: Jack Nicklaus (1987). Par 72, 7,147 yards. Scottie Scheffler won the 2026 American Express here with 261 (−27).
Updated October 24, 2026
11 editions on the record, by event, newest first.
PGA Tour
| Year | Champion | Score | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | The American Express Scottie Scheffler | 261 (−27) | by 4 strokes |
| 2025 | Sepp Straka | 263 (−25) | by 2 strokes |
| 2024 | Nick Dunlap | 259 (−29) | lowest winning score in this event · by 1 stroke |
| 2023 | Jon Rahm | 261 (−27) | by 1 stroke |
| 2022 | Hudson Swafford | 265 (−23) | by 2 strokes |
| 2021 | Kim Si-woo | 265 (−23) | by 1 stroke |
| 2020 | Andrew Landry | 262 (−26) | by 2 strokes |
| 2019 | Desert Classic Adam Long | 262 (−26) | by 1 stroke |
| 2018 | CareerBuilder Challenge Jon Rahm | 266 (−22) | won in a playoff |
| 2017 | Hudson Swafford | 268 (−20) | by 1 stroke |
| 2016 | Jason Dufner | 263 (−25) | won in a playoff |
The club highlights the Nicklaus Tournament Course's two island greens, cavernous bunkers and tiered fairways. It shares American Express hosting with the Stadium Course.
The club lists the Nicklaus Tournament Course as a PGA TOUR Q-School finals venue in 1986, 1988, 1989, 1999 and every other year from 2002.
Source: PGA WEST – Tournament History
The par-5 15th, "Long Island", is one of the course's two island greens: a deep fairway bunker guards the drive and the approach must carry water to the green.
The course's other island green is on a par 3, with water around every edge of the putting surface and bunkers adding to the target.
The 7,204-yard layout of elevated greens with drop-offs into the rough is set against the Santa Rosa Mountains.
Source: PGA WEST blog – Bold holes: 5 of the toughest · Golfbreaks – Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA WEST
The course has more than 90 sand bunkers covering 8.8 acres, all re-lined with new sand and drainage in fall 2025 without adding or removing any; water comes from a canal.
Source: GCSAA Tournament Fact Sheet: The American Express 2026
Jack Nicklaus
restoration (summer 2020): Bermudagrass greens replaced with TifEagle; greens expanded to original shapes and sizes
Source: PGA WEST – Course Restorations
fall 2025 greenside and fairway bunker renovation: new sand, liners, drainage; no bunkers added or removed
Source: GCSAA Tournament Fact Sheet: The American Express 2026
The PGA Tour and DP World Tour weeks at this course since 2017.
| Year | Event | Winner | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | The American Express 22–25 January 2026 | Scottie Scheffler | here: R1-R3 rotation (one round per player on each course) · PGA Tour |
| 2025 | The American Express 16–19 January 2025 | Sepp Straka | here: R1-R3 rotation (one round per player on each course) · PGA Tour |
| 2024 | The American Express 18–21 January 2024 | Nick Dunlap | here: R1-R3 rotation (one round per player on each course) · PGA Tour |
| 2023 | The American Express 19–22 January 2023 | Jon Rahm | here: R1-R3 rotation (one round on each course) · PGA Tour |
| 2022 | The American Express 20–23 January 2022 | Hudson Swafford | here: R1-R3 rotation (one round on each course) · PGA Tour |
| 2021 | The American Express 21–24 January 2021 | Kim Si-woo | here: R1-R2 rotation (one round on each course) · PGA Tour |
| 2020 | The American Express 16–19 January 2020 | Andrew Landry | here: R1-R3 rotation · PGA Tour |
| 2019 | Desert Classic 17–20 January 2019 | Adam Long | here: R1-R3 rotation · PGA Tour |
| 2018 | CareerBuilder Challenge 18–21 January 2018 | Jon Rahm | here: R1-R3 rotation · PGA Tour |
| 2017 | CareerBuilder Challenge 19–22 January 2017 | Hudson Swafford | here: R1-R3 rotation · PGA Tour |
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's tour-course research (profiles, championship history, the tour's visits since 2017, stories, details and course changes, each with its sources). A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. The light in the room is the sun's real position on the last day of a recorded visit.
The routing and ground are drawn from OpenStreetMap data, © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL). The clubhouse is drawn by GNN from reference photographs; the photographs stay private.
Data: pga-west-nicklaus-tournament.json. Spot an error? See corrections.