Blades Brown, 18, shoots course-record 60 to tie Scottie Scheffler for American Express lead
Blades Brown, an 18-year-old kid who finished high school less than two weeks ago, hopped in the passenger’s seat of a GMC Yukon at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Bahamas.
At 9:58 a.m. Pacific Time Thursday, he teed off in a PGA Tour event 3,000 miles away.
At 2:48 p.m. Friday, Brown set the PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course record and tied the No. 1 player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, for the American Express lead.
It’s about as chaotic and incredible as a week in golf can get, and he still has two days to go. Brown’s historic 60 launched him up the leaderboard — he was one missed birdie putt away from tying the tournament record and becoming the 15th man to shoot 59 on the PGA Tour. Assuming Brown makes the 54-hole cut Saturday (it would take a disastrous round not to), it will be the first time in history a golfer played eight rounds in as many days between the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour. The fact that he could win the PGA Tour stop? All the more absurd.
SO CLOSE to a 59 🤏
18-year-old @BladesBrown2026 posts a 60 to set the Nicklaus Tournament Course record @TheAmExGolf.
📺 Golf Channel https://t.co/D5oS95Lp59 pic.twitter.com/aiCfm7GFqL
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 23, 2026
The Nashville prodigy has been a name to know in golf for a few years. At 16, he broke Bobby Jones’ 103-year-old record as the youngest stroke play medalist in U.S. Amateur history. He made his PGA Tour debut just before his 17th birthday and turned pro last year.
But this week may already be his most impressive feat. Brown played in the KFT’s Bahamas Great Abaco Classic this week and finished tied for 17th as it concluded Wednesday. Then, thanks to a free ride on a private jet from ONEflight CEO Ferren Rajput, he was in the air by 4 p.m. ET, en route to his 10th career PGA Tour start.
Brown, who holds full status on the developmental Korn Ferry Tour and was in this event on a sponsor’s exemption, landed in Palm Springs around 8 p.m. and grabbed some Panda Express for dinner. After stopping for groceries, he went to bed by 10 and made his Thursday tee time without an issue, shooting a bogey-free 67 in the low-scoring event.
Friday, though, Brown showed he belonged.
He opened as well as any golfer could dream of, going 8-under on his first seven holes. Birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie. Then, he cooled off, right? Nope. He still shot a 4-under 32 on his second nine, and that included two tough birdie misses on Nos. 8 and 9 to end the day. Nonetheless, Brown’s 60 is the best score in course history.
The tricky thing about leaderboard watching at the American Express is that the first three rounds are spread across as many courses (each player playing once each before a 54-hole cut), before the final round at the Pete Dye Stadium Course. But good luck downplaying this moment, because Brown played the same two courses as Scheffler. They are both tied for the lead at 17-under-par.
On Wednesday afternoon, 18-year-old Blades Brown completed the final round @KornFerryTour @BahamasKFTour at The Abaco Club.
On Thursday morning, he teed it up on TOUR @TheAmExGolf, roughly 2,500 miles west … and he carded a bogey-free 67 ✈️ 😮 pic.twitter.com/i6IKTvHIcD
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 23, 2026
“I love what I do. I love to play golf,” Brown said Thursday. “You’re telling me I get to play, hopefully, eight straight competitive golf rounds? … Like what’s not to love about that? So essentially, the first four rounds on the Korn Ferry Tour were my practice rounds for this event.”
Saturday, Brown, whose previous best finish on the PGA Tour is T34, will play the Stadium Course at 8:52 a.m. local time, hoping to keep this run alive.
There’s also a big payoff looming. Brown earned $13,853 for his Bahamas Great Abaco Classic finish. The winner of the American Express, on top of status on the PGA Tour and invitations into the four major championships, will earn $1.656 million.
