For three days, Blades Brown was the story of The American Express, with the 17-year-old making birdies and thrilling galleries in his professional debut.
But the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West in La Quinta seemed to have no sentiment for that story.
After reaching 11-under par with birdies on three of his first five holes Saturday and sitting well inside the cut line, Brown stumbled with three bogeys and a double bogey in his final 13 holes. The double bogey came when he put his tee shot in the water on the infamous par-3 17th with its island green.
The result was a 2-over 74 on Saturday and a 6-under 210 total for 54 holes, three shots off the cut line. But while Brown leaves La Quinta without a made cut, he was still delighted with the week.
“It was a blast competing on the PGA Tour. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to convert coming down the stretch,” Brown said. “But, I mean, a lot of practice. I’m glad I’m doing it right now, that way I can learn. My dad always says, you win and you learn, and I’m definitely going to learn from this experience.”
While Brown was in The American Express field on a sponsor’s exemption, he will play in the Monday qualifier to try to make the field of the Farmers Insurance Open next week in San Diego.
Unkind cut
Brown wasn’t the only player of note to miss the cut, which came at 9-under 207 for three days.
Two-time major champion winner Zach Johnson finished at 7 under, as did Tony Finau and Francesco Molinari.
Tom Kim finished at 6 under for the week, as did Sungjae Im. Somehow Peter Malnati managed to play three rounds without a bogey, but still made it to just 6 under and will not play on Sunday.
Adam Hadwin, who has three top-three finishes in the tournament, was also at 6 under, while 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark was at 5 under, with two rounds of 71 for the week.
2023 British Open winner Brian Harman came in at 4 under. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who finished second in the tournament last year but took home the first-place check with amateur Nick Dunlap winning, finished at 3 under this year.
More: Still strong: Even without top two players in the world, American Express field is stellar
Firm but fair
Patrick Cantlay, who shares the tournament record for a single round at the Pete Dye Stadium Course at 11-under 61, didn’t seem that concerned about the firm new greens at the Stadium Course this year. Cantlay fired a 6-under 66 on Saturday to get back in contention, five shots out of the lead. The round featured eight birdies and two bogeys.
“New greens, obviously they’re going to be a little firmer, that’s the case any time they redo greens,” Cantlay said. “It’s a little different for this event, usually the greens are a little on the softer side, but with it firm like this you really have to pick a good number and hit your spots coming into the greens.”
A little windy
When Charley Hoffman won the 2007 American Express, beating John Rollins in a playoff, the week was best known for its unseasonable cold and wind throughout the week. At least that’s what Hoffman remembers.
“That year I vividly remember it was cold and windy, and The Classic Club was known to get some wind,” Hoffman said of that year’s host course in Palm Desert on the north side of Interstate 10. “But I remember playing Bermuda Dunes, it might have been my first round, the greens were pretty much frozen when I was playing.
“I don’t know if they knew what frost delays were back then,” he said. “So the conditions were much different. This is more typical desert weather here in La Quinta, and guys are taking advantage of it.”
The tournament was also a five-day, four-course event with 90 holes of regulation, with Hoffman having to go to a playoff to beat Rollins.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Teenager Blades Brown misses American Express golf cut, but happy to learn
