LA QUINTA, Calif (AP) — 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.
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. 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.
“We’re going to see what happens,” Brown said.
Scheffler wasn’t quite as sharp as he was in the opening round and still managed a bogey-free 64 on the Nicklaus course, playing before the largest gallery and two groups ahead of Brown.
Scheffler has started on the two easiest courses — he faces the Stadium Course on Saturday — and was only 2 under through eight holes at Nicklaus Tournament. That feels like losing ground. But then he hit into 4 feet for birdie at No. 18, made the turn and birdied two of the next three, and then ran off three straight birdies late in the round.
“I didn’t get off to the start I would have hoped to get off to today,” Scheffler said. “Outside of that, I did a really good job on the back nine of staying patient and didn’t really try to force things out there. I made a good birdie on my ninth hole today, which was 18, and made some nice birdies on that back nine.
“We’re halfway done, but I put myself in good position after two days with two solid rounds, and just looking forward to hopefully putting up another solid round tomorrow and then we’ll see where we’re at going into Sunday.”
What typically is a casual tournament in the Coachella Valley, set among desert mountains and palm trees and emerald green fairways, was a sellout on Friday.
Scheffler is a big draw in the strongest field in years. And now there’s a teenager who was one putt away from becoming the youngest player in PGA Tour history to break 60.
Brown got attention quickly when he was 8 under through seven holes — six birdies and a 25-foot eagle putt on No. 11 after starting on the back nine.
“And then by the time we made the turn I said, ‘OK, couple birdies here on the front nine, let’s see how low we can go.’ When I stepped onto 18 tee box I knew what was at stake. I knew I needed a birdie to shoot 59, and I was just close this time.”
Brown wasn’t alone. As he was teeing off on his final hole at the Nicklaus course with a shot at 59, Andrew Putnam was on the 18th hole at La Quinta, needing birdie to break 60.
Both made par. And the tournament is half over, with thoughts now turning to a weekend that features Scheffler looming large as ever atop the leaderboard with a teenager, both at 17-under 127.
Scheffler doesn’t know much about Brown except that he turned pro while still in high school. He also heard that he was in the Korn Ferry Tour event in the Bahamas (Brown tied for 17th) without realizing it didn’t end until Wednesday and he flew straight to PGA West.
“So he’s in form,” Scheffler said with a smile.
“These kids coming out, they know they got to come out and make some birdies,” Scheffler said. “I think when you’re coming out young you don’t have as much scar tissue as the guys that are a little bit more seasoned, and you just come out, and if you want to make a name for yourself you got to put up some good scores.
“It sounds like an 18-year-old shooting 59 is a pretty good start to his career there.”
This was before Brown missed his short birdie putt on the final hole, but the point stands. It was an impressive round of golf for anyone, much less an 18-year-old.
Si Woo Kim, a past champion here, shot 65 on the tougher Stadium Course and was one shot behind, and plenty more players were lined up behind him.
Eleven players were separated by three shots at the halfway point, a group that included Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark, both three behind. The cut is not made until Saturday after everyone has played all three courses.
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