In La Quinta, California, a burgeoning star has crashed the party at The American Express. Eighteen-year-old Blades Brown blistered the Nicklaus Tournament Course on Friday, firing a bogey-free 12-under-par 60 that not only set a new course record but thrust the teen into an unexpected tie for the lead with World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler heading into the weekend.
It was a round many golfers dream of, and a near-historic one at that. Brown birdied six of his first seven holes and was just one putt shy of becoming the youngest player in PGA Tour history to shoot a 59 — a feat he narrowly missed when a crucial six-foot birdie attempt slid past on the final hole.
“I’m so stoked,” Brown said afterward, his youthful grin matching the magnitude of his achievement. “We’re going to see what happens.”
The journey to this moment was anything but ordinary. Brown flew straight from a Korn Ferry Tour event in the Bahamas just days earlier, arriving Wednesday evening, and yet his transition to elite competition felt seamless. His first round a tidy 67 set the foundation, but Friday’s brilliance brought his name into the same sentence as golf’s most celebrated player.
Scheffler, steady as ever, shot a bogey-free round of 64 and lauded Brown’s performance, underscoring both the depth of the field and the growing momentum of the teen phenom.
As the tournament moves into the weekend, what began as a desert stop on the early PGA Tour calendar has transformed into a compelling story of youthful ambition meeting seasoned mastery.
