With perhaps the best name in professional golf, Blades Brown doesn’t just sound like he knows his way around a golf course; he’s been proving it at The American Express over the past two days.
At just 18 years old, Brown followed a solid opening-round 67 at La Quinta Country Club on Thursday by nearly shooting a 59 on Friday, making 10 birdies and an eagle at the Nicklaus Tournament course at PGA West en route to a 12-under 60, thus becoming the youngest player in PGA Tour history to shoot 60 or lower.
Wednesday afternoon he was in the Bahamas finishing his final round on the @KornFerryTour.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 23, 2026
Today, 18-year-old @BladesBrown2026 shoots 60 in California @TheAmexGolf! pic.twitter.com/eWD0Cl4n4Z
The Nashville native is no stranger to breaking records. At just 16 years old, he became the youngest medalist in stroke-play history at the U.S. Amateur, breaking a 103-year-old mark previously held by Bobby Jones, who was 18 at the time. That historic performance came at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colorado, where Brown also fired a course-record 64 on his way to a tie for first place.
After foregoing college golf, Brown spent time playing on the Korn Ferry Tour before making his professional debut at last year’s American Express as a 17-year-old. He opened the tournament with an even-par first round, followed by a 64 in Round 2, which at the time was the third-lowest score in a PGA Tour event by a player under 18 in the past 40 years. However, he unraveled in Round 3, shooting a 74 and missing the cut by three strokes.
Fast forward to today, and Brown is tied for first place at the same tournament at 17-under, alongside none other than world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, a position he doesn’t take lightly.
“Scottie’s obviously an unbelievable player,” Brown told Golf Channel after his second round. “To have my name next to his name on the leaderboard… I’m just going to focus on executing the shots I can and see what happens.”
Brown also reflected on his monumental final putt attempt for 59 on the 18th hole. “I actually was pretty calm,” he said. “I was just looking at how beautiful this golf course was… sometimes you just need something to calm you down.” While the putt didn’t fall, Brown remained positive. “Unfortunately it didn’t go in, but I’m really happy with the outcome I had today.”
It will be very interesting to see if Brown can keep pace with Scheffler over the weekend, but one thing is certain: the young golfer has the mindset to succeed. Now, we’ll see if he can live up to his name.