After a promising start, Nashville’s Blades Brown had a rocky finish as he missed the cut in his first tournament as a professional golfer at the PGA Tour American Express.
Brown, 17, shot a 2-over 74 in the third round at the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West in La Quinta, California, on Saturday to miss the cut by three shots. He finished at 6-under 210 for three days.
Overall, it was not a bad performance from the former Brentwood Academy golfer, who announced he was foregoing college in December. He shot even-par 72 on the first day and his sizzling 8-under 64 second round on Friday was the third-lowest score of that round. It was the lowest score in a PGA Tour event by a player under the age of 18 in 40 years, according to golf statistician Justin Ray
“Golf is a weird and funny game … but I’m going to keep my head up,” Brown told NBC. “Sometimes you’re not going to hit the ball where you want to, but I love to see the ball fly through the air and I’m really looking forward to what’s next.”
Brown will try to get into next week’s Farmers Insurance Open field during Monday qualifying at Torrey Pines in San Diego. The top four finishers can play in the tournament. He will be paired with Michael Block, the PGA of America club pro who made waves by finishing T-15 in the 2023 PGA Championship, and three-time Tour winner Chez Reavie.
The Farmers Open is one of several PGA Tour events that have qualifiers, which Brown could use to gain starts since he doesn’t have full-time Tour status. After next week, the Waste Management Phoenix Open (Feb. 3-9) is the next PGA Tour event with a qualifier, leaving three spots open.
More: Why Blades Brown was named Tennessean’s 2024 High School Sportsperson of Year
Exemptions will be another key to Brown’s PGA Tour success this season. He played the American Express on a sponsor exemption. His management agency, SportFive, runs the tournament. The PGA Tour allows players up to seven sponsor exemptions each year. SportFive also runs the Puerto Rico Open, Myrtle Beach Classic and ISCO Championship.
Brown can also gain starts by contending with the best players. The 10 finishers at PGA Tour events can earn additional tournament exemptions.
He moves forward having gained some good lessons from the American Express. Brown birdied three of his final round’s first five holes but played the last 13 at 5-over, with three bogeys and a double bogey.
He told NBC after Saturday’s round that he lost focus a little bit after an errant tee shot on hole No. 17 that ended up in the water.
“I think, mentally, I definitely can grow right there,” Brown said.
Brown got plenty of attention from his Friday round in which he made 10 birdies. He positioned himself to not only make the cut but push for a top 25 finish if he played well enough. He would have been guaranteed at least $18,920 in winnings had he made the cut.
Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Blades Brown, 17, misses cut in first PGA Tour event as pro golfer
