Blades Brown is a familiar name. It’s a very memorable name.
Brown, 18, made history when he shot a 60 in the second round of the American Express on Friday. On the final hole of the day, he made a short putt and shot 59.
But even after coming agonizingly close to joining the ultra-rare under-60 club, he still became the youngest player to shoot 60 or better on the PGA Tour and set a course record at the Nicklaus Championship Course in La Quinta, California.
advertise
“The putt didn’t go down on the 9th hole, but to me it was the lowest round on the PGA Tour and brought a lot of positives to the weekend,” Brown told Golf Channel afterward.
The 12-under finish brought his two-day total to 17 under, tying him with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler for first place. Brown’s world ranking is No. 485, but you have to forgive this teenager who just turned professional a year ago and has only participated in 8 PGA events in 2025.
“Scotty is obviously an unbelievable player and putting my name next to his name on the leaderboard – we’re already halfway there, so I still have a lot of golf to do, but this weekend I’m going to focus on executing the shots I can and see what happens,” Brown said.
It’s also been a whirlwind week for Brown, who flew to California late Wednesday after playing four rounds at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Great Abaco Classic in the Bahamas.
advertise
That means Saturday will be his seventh consecutive day playing a round of competitive golf. Such is the life of a young player trying to earn full-time PGA status.
Brown began to attract attention in the golf world when, at age 16, he became the youngest player ever to win a medal at the U.S. Amateur Championship. A year later, the Tennessee native opted to join the pros despite receiving several college offers.
It looks like he can more than hold his own against the big boys.
Brown and Scheffler won’t be paired up on Saturday because the American Express has an unusual three-round elimination round, meaning the leaders won’t be paired up until Sunday’s final round.
advertise
Regardless, Brown is sure to draw a lot of attention this weekend. He kicks off Saturday at 11:52 a.m. ET. Golf Channel television coverage begins Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.