Blades Brown score: Will 17-year-old make cut in first pro golf tournament at American Express?

Posted by Admin January 18, 2025 Golf

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Nashville’s Blades Brown, who is 17 years old, enters Saturday after a day to remember in the second round of his pro golf career.

Brown had 10 birdies Friday at the 2025 PGA Tour American Express Golf tournament at the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course in La Quinta, California.

Brown made six birdies in a row on his front nine and had eight birdies in nine holes at one point. Brown shot an 8-under 64, rising to a tie for 41st. He began the day in 117th place after shooting an even-par 72 in his first round as a pro.

Brown was eight shots behind leaders Charley Hoffman and Rico Hoey, who were at 16-under, to start Saturday’s round.

The cut for the American Express tournament will be made after Saturday’s third round. Brown is tied for 41st heading into the third round.

The top 65 golfers plus ties will make Sunday’s final round.

Brown will tee off at 11:36 a.m. CT Saturday with Isaiah Salinda at the Pete Dye Stadium course, which is considered the hardest of the three courses where the tournament is being played.

Brown has +75000 odds to win the American Express, tied for second-worst in the tournament, according to FanDuel.

His odds are better than several big names, however, including 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett and 2013 PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner.

The tournament’s total purse is $8.8 million, with the winner taking home $1.584 million.

The 2025 American Express will be streamed online with PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ beginning at 10:30 a.m. CT Saturday and Sunday.

Simulcasts of Golf Channel and NBC’s television coverage will be available on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

Here’s the American Express schedule on Golf Channel.

● Saturday, Jan. 18: 3-6 p.m. CT (Golf Channel)

Brown is playing in the 2025 American Express on a sponsor exemption. His management agency, SportFive, runs the tournament.

Exemptions are Brown’s key to PGA Tour success in the 2025 season. The tour allows players up to seven sponsor exemptions each year. SportFive also runs the Puerto Rico Open, Myrtle Beach Classic and ISCO Championship.

Top 10 finishers at PGA Tour events can earn additional tournament exemptions.

Brown, who attended Brentwood Academy near Nashville, is 17 years old.

Brown decided to forgo college to compete in professional tournaments for money. Technically, he is a pro but does not have full-time status on the PGA Tour, meaning he cannot play in every event.

PGA Tour Q-School is the most direct way to make the tour full-time. Q-School is a months-long series of fall tournaments in which the top five finishers are awarded PGA Tour status.

It’s not uncommon for European players to skip college and turn pro out of high school. Most Americans choose the college route. But there could be a shift as some amateurs, like Brown and 16-year-old Miles Russell, dabble in PGA Tour events on exemptions.

Akshay Bhatia, at age 17 in 2019, is the most recent notable American to turn pro. He has since won the Barracuda Championship and Valero Texas Open.

Alabama golfer Nick Dunlap, at 20, became the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour when he captured the American Express title last year. His 29-under 259 was the event record since it moved to a 72-hole format in 2016.

Brown and Dunlap have crossed paths. While Brown won the 2023 U.S. Amateur stroke play title, Dunlap went on to win the U.S. Amateur championship, outlasting Neal Shipley in the final match.

Brown tied for 26th place at the Myrtle Beach Classic in May as an amateur in his first PGA Tour event. He finished at 10-under 209.

In 2023, Brown won the stroke play portion of the U.S. Amateur, regarded as the nation’s most difficult amateur tournament. At age 16, he shot 8-under 64 at Colorado Golf Club to become the youngest medalist in U.S. Amateur history, breaking Jones’ 103-year-old record.

Brown was the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur medalist, firing rounds of 66-68 (134) at Oakland Hills Country Club in Detroit to join Woods and Clampett as the only players to medal at both the U.S. Junior and the U.S. Amateur.

Brown won three AJGA titles in 2024 and captured the Tennessee State Junior by 12 shots. He also represented the United States on the national junior and junior Presidents Cup teams.

In high school, he attended Brentwood Academy and won three consecutive Division II-AAA TSSAA state championships (2021-23). In 2023, he tied the TSSAA two-day scoring record at 14-under 130 for the tournament.

Brown’s first name comes from his mom, Rhonda Brown, whose maiden name is Blades.

Rhonda Brown led Vanderbilt women’s basketball to its only Final Four during her career from 1991 to 1995 and became the first pick in the 1998 WNBA expansion draft. She made the WNBA’s first 3-pointer in league history in 1997 as a member of the New York Liberty.

Brown’s mom played seven professional seasons in the WNBA and overseas before becoming the coach at Brentwood Academy, where she won five TSSAA basketball state titles in 23 seasons.

Brown’s major golf sponsors include Callaway golf products and Travis Mathew apparel.

He’s also giving a nod to Tennessee golf this week with a custom bag featuring the Tennessee Golf Foundation logo.