LA QUINTA, Calif — A chaotic week for 18-year-old Blades Brown was an inch away from a most spectacular highlight Friday when he narrowly missed a 6-foot birdie putt for 59, leaving him tied for the lead in The American Express with Scottie Scheffler.
Brown, who turned pro last year and is weeks removed from graduating high school, needed only one birdie over the final three holes on the Nicklaus Tournament course at PGA West, the easiest of three courses in the rotation in ideal weather.
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He hit a gap wedge just right of the pin on his last hole, the par-4 ninth. He had the advantage of seeing David Ford go first on the same line.
Blades Brown, right, gets a hug from his caddie Brett Swedberg as Brown finishes at the ninth green for a 12-under-par 60 during the second round of the American Express golf event at the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in La Quinta, Calif. AP
He picked his spot, rolled the putt and it stayed right, grazing the edge as the gallery groaned.
No matter.
“I’m so stoked,” he said, along with needing what he called a “fat nap.”
Brown earned Korn Ferry Tour status last year and was in the Bahamas for a tournament that didn’t end until Wednesday. He used a flight voucher he earned from a top-50 finish in the Myrtle Beach Classic last year to fly private to Palm Springs, arriving to his hotel about 8 p.m. on the eve of The American Express, where he is playing on a sponsor exemption.
And now he goes into the weekend tied with golf’s best player.
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