PGA Tour Stars Heating Up as Florida Swing Approaches

The PGA Tour’s biggest stars have started to take flight, although they did board actual airplanes when they said farewell to the West Coast and prepared to take residence in Florida for a month.

While Jacob Bridgeman earned his first career victory Sunday in the Los Angeles area at the Genesis Invitational, many of the game’s best have shown in recent weeks they are ready for the stakes to be raised.

On Sunday alone, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler showed yet again he can make a charge with one bad opening round tied behind his back, while No. 2 Rory McIlroy nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback without his A game.

No. 3 Tommy Fleetwood made nary a whisper and then slam dunked an iron from 173 yards for an eagle 2 at the 15th hole and finished tied for seventh. After not winning for more than two years, No. 5 Collin Morikawa came out on top at Pebble Beach two weeks ago and matched Fleetwood in seventh place after seven birdies Sunday.

Also showing he is ready to come to life in Florida is fan favorite Jordan Speith, who is buried way down at No. 82 in the world, but rose 29 places on the leaderboard Sunday with a 5-under 66 to finish tied for 12th at 11 under. Spieth had finished no better than 19th since last year’s U.S. Open.

McIlroy parlayed a win at Pebble Beach last season into a remarkable season when he also won at the Players Championship then topped that with a win at The Masters.

Could another top be ready to take charge with the Players Championship three weeks away and The Masters looming as the first major of the year in a month and a half?

“These (signature) events, there's a huge difference in points at these events,” Spieth said. “This is a good week; this gives me a little bit of house money. I haven't felt like I've had house money since Hawaii in '24, so it's been a while. I'll take it to a comfortable stretch coming up.”

Scheffler's opening rounds the past three weeks have looked troublesome. And yet he has turned things around to roar into contention, finishing third at Phoenix, fourth at Pebble Beach and 12th in the L.A. area.

“Overall I feel like my game is in a good spot,” said Scheffler, who remains confident even while admitting he has some parts of his game that need to be addressed. “Got a few things that I need to clean up, but overall, I feel I'm continuing to trend in the right direction.”

McIlroy had the most revealing two weeks since he started the PGA Tour portion of his season at Pebble Beach. California crowds returned to making McIlroy feel loved after he was public enemy No. 1 in New York during Europe’s ride to the Ryder Cup title in September.

“I think it's completely different, right?” McIlroy said Sunday. "(You’re) playing in a team setting and playing against the United States of America. I tried to take the treatment a little bit like a compliment as if they saw me as a threat and they were trying to get to me.

The treatment did cross that competitive line, with McIlroy expressing as much at the time and in the event’s aftermath. He is moving on now.

“No, look, the support that I usually get week in and week out on the PGA Tour is absolutely amazing, and I certainly don't take it for granted," he said. "(Sunday) was no different.”

Also ready to make a statement after a strong week is Xander Schauffele, who had a troubling start to his season when he missed the cut at his hometown tournament, the Farmers Insurance Open, then finished tied for 41st at Phoenix. He tied for seventh Sunday.

“Definitely didn't do a whole lot last year for several different reasons and it was nice to end the year with a win,” said Schauffele, who entered last week at No. 13 in the world. “And yeah, it definitely feels like I'm trying to prove something to myself again in '26.”