Xander Schauffele pulls out of The American Express

The American Express event in La Quinta, Calif., this week was due to welcome the top two players in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Now neither will be there.

No. 2 Xander Schauffele withdrew on Monday because of an undisclosed health issue.

Last week, No. 1 Scottie Scheffler pulled out of the event, citing the right hand injury he sustained in a Christmas Day kitchen accident. Scheffler had glass fragments surgically removed from his palm.

Schauffele played at the season-opening The Sentry event in Kapalua, Hawaii, two weeks ago, and he tied for 30th place. He also competed last week in the inaugural match of the TGL, a simulated golf competition, showing no signs of an injury.

Schauffele owns a mixed history at the event now known as The American Express, having missed the cut in 2016 and '17 before tying for third in 2023 and '24.

The 31-year-old San Diego native won two events last year, but both were majors: the PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville and the Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland.

The exit of Schauffele and Scheffler leaves just one top-10 player in the La Quinta field: No. 7 Wyndham Clark.

The American Express field will all play one round at each of three courses: the Stadium Course and the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West plus La Quinta Country Club. The low 65 professionals (and ties) will advance to the final round on Sunday at the Stadium Course.

Last year, amateur Nick Dunlap won The American Express by one stroke over Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

--Field Level Media