LA QUINTA, Calif. — New year, same Scotty Scheffler.

The No. 1 player in the world loves coming to the California desert at the beginning of the season to reflect on his game and set his tone for the tournament. There wasn’t much wrong with American Express on Sunday.

Scheffler birdied half of his holes and started with a two-stroke lead, but by the end he had a six-shot lead and won by four strokes with a 6-under 66.

“When you play competitive golf, there’s always some level of rust,” Scheffler said. “You can simulate it as much as you can at home, but the only time you can really get into it in the moment is when you’re in a tournament where you’re scoring and competing. So it’s nice to see all the things I’ve been practicing and working on paying off.”

He made four birdies in six holes on the front nine, dominating the likes of 18-year-old Blaze Brown.

Scheffler won for the 20th time in the past four years on the PGA Tour, earning him a lifetime membership. Further demonstrating his dominance in the game, he won nine of those 20 tournaments by four strokes or more.

He also joins Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win 20 PGA Tour titles and four major titles before turning 30.

“It’s pretty wild,” Scheffler said. “It was a great start to my career. It was special. I try not to think about it too much. I was just trying to do what I had to do to prepare.”

The world No. 1 player briefly shared the stage with Brown, who graduated from high school two weeks ago and tied for 17th at the Korn Ferry Tour event in the Bahamas that ended Wednesday. He became the first player to play eight consecutive days in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.

Whether fatigue caught up with him or simply in that moment — he was about to become the youngest PGA Tour winner in 95 years — it was over quickly.

Brown was one stroke behind leader Siu Kim after 54 holes as Scheffler headed to the tee on the par-3 fourth hole at PGA West’s Stadium Course. After five holes, Brown and Kim were five shots behind and Scheffler went into overdrive.

“I think eight rounds is a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun,” he said. “I’m saying I could play in a PGA Tour event and play with Scotty Scheffler and watch him win, which was insane.

“There are some things I need to hone in on. Hopefully I can see if I can do what Scotty is doing.”

Everything seemed normal in the end. Scheffler made the par putt to finish at 27-under 261, stuffed his golf ball in his pocket and laughed. It all seems so routine.

He has now won four of his last six starts and seven of his last 13 on the PGA Tour. He has finished in the top 10 in 16 consecutive tour appearances, extending the longest streak by a player since 1970.

“He never seems to want to relax,” said Jason Day, one of four players to earn the B flight in second place. “He always has to do his job and do whatever he has to do to be ready, and he’s always out front. And that’s very difficult, especially at No. 1, considering how many distractions there are.”

Scheffler quickly took control after a birdie-bogey start. He pulled an 8-iron to 2 feet on the par-3 fourth hole, hit a shot out of the water on the par-5 fifth hole and hit the hole from just over the green on a pitch-and-run for a birdie. Two more birdies on the wedge to close out the front, and two more early on at the back for a four-point lead.

Brown’s chances appeared to be over after one hole. He took an aggressive line and sunk his tee shot into the water on the par-5 fifth. He had to drop in front of the tee box — he chose to drop in the dormant Bermuda rough rather than the teeing ground — and then hit a bad wedge as he returned to position for double bogey.

Brown went 11 holes without a birdie and had two late bogeys for a 74. He dropped from a tie for second to a tie for 18th, missing out on next week’s race at Torrey Pines.

However, thanks to the wonderful teacher, it was a very good lesson.

“One of the best things I learned today is how underrated Scottie Scheffler’s short game is,” Brown said. “I’d love to see it in person and see the trajectory and the spin and the control he has on his wedge and short game. Obviously his putting is off the charts as well. It was really cool to watch. So I’m definitely going to work on that.”

He ended the day with a 64, moving up 18 places to finish second alongside Ryan Gerrard (65), Matt McCarty (68) and Andrew Putnam (68).

Kim, who often plays with Scheffler at the Royal Oaks in Dallas, also got lost on one hole. On the par-5 8th hole, which was two shots behind, he took two strokes to escape from the greenside bunker and chipped hard, resulting in a double bogey. On the next hole, he missed a 3-foot par putt. Kim made three birdies on the back nine and shot a 72 to tie for sixth place.

Scheffler’s only big mistake was an insignificant tee shot on the par-3 17th hole known as “Alcatraz,” but by then he had plenty of acquittal cards. His double bogey only prevented American Express from increasing its margin against the strongest field in decades.

Scheffler will now take a week off before completing a three-tournament West Coast stint that began at the Phoenix Open, where his incredible run began four years ago. He won his first PGA Tour title in the playoffs. It’s not that close these days.

This report used information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press.