17-year-old completes first round as professional golfer

On January 18, 2025By Littum

Nashville’s Blades Brown, who is 17 years old, made his pro golf debut Thursday in the 2025 American Express Golf Tournament at La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, California.

The former Brentwood Academy standout shot an even-par 72. He had three straight birdies on the front nine and finished his round with 12 even pars.

Brown is tied for 117th, 10 shots behind leader JT Poston. The cut will be made after Saturday’s third round and the top 65 plus ties will advance to Sunday’s final round.

Blades Brown finished his front nine with three straight pars and is even through nine holes in his pro golf debut at the PGA Tour American Express Tournament

Blades Brown is back to even on his round after three straight birdies on the front nine. Brown birdied the first of his professional career on the par-4 fourth hole, then birdied the par-5 fifth hole and followed with another on the par-5 sixth hole.

Blades Brown made his first birdie as a professional golfer on the par-4 fourth hole in his first round at the American Express tournament. Brown is 2-over in the tournament. He bogeyed the second hole and had a double bogey on the third hole.

Blades Brown’s first round as a professional golfer has begun. The 17-year-old makes par on the par-4 first hole at the LaQuinta course.

Brown starts at 12:42 p.m. CT Thursday with Isaiah Salinda on the LaQuinta course as part of a three-course rotation over the tournament’s first 54 holes.

On Friday, the same pairing will start at 12:09 p.m. CT on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament course, and Saturday at 11:36 a.m. CT, they will tee off on the Pete Dye Stadium course.

The cut will be made after Saturday’s round is completed for Sunday’s final round, which will include the top 65 plus ties on the Pete Dye course.

Brown has +75,000 odds to win the American Express, which is tied for second-worst in the tournament, according to FanDuel.

However, his odds are better than several big names, including 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett and 2013 PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner.

The tournament’s total purse is $8.8 million, with the winner taking home $1.584 million.

The 2025 American Express will be streamed online with PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ starting at 10:30 a.m. CT Thursday through Sunday.

Simulcasts of Golf Channel and NBC’s television coverage will be available on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

Here is the American Express schedule on the Golf Channel.

● Thursday, January 16: 3-6pm CT (Golf Channel)

● Friday, January 17: 3-6pm CT (Golf Channel)

● Saturday, January 18: 3-6pm CT (Golf Channel)

Brown will play in 2025 American Express on a sponsorship exemption. His management agency, SportFive, runs the tournament.

Exceptions are Brown’s key to PGA Tour success in the 2025 season. The tour gives players up to seven sponsorship exemptions each year. SportFive also runs the Puerto Rico Open, the Myrtle Beach Classic and the ISCO Championship.

The top 10 finishers at PGA Tour events may earn additional tournament exemptions.

Brown, who attended Brentwood Academy near Nashville, is 17 years old.

Brown decided to forgo college to compete in professional tournaments for money. Technically, he’s a professional, but he doesn’t have full-time status on the PGA Tour, which means he can’t play in every event.

PGA Tour Q-School is the most direct way to make the tour full-time. Q-School is a month-long series of fall tournaments where the top five finishers are awarded PGA Tour status.

It’s not uncommon for European players to skip college and turn professional right out of high school. Most Americans choose the college route. But there could be a shift, since some amateurs, like Brown and 16-year-olds Miles Russelldabble in PGA Tour events on exemptions.

Akshay Bhatia, 17 years old in 2019, is the latest notable American to turn pro. He has since won the Barracuda Championship and the Valero Texas Open.

Alabama golfer Nick Dunlap, 20, became the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour when he won the American Express title last year. His 29-under 259 was the event record since it moved to a 72-hole format in 2016.

Brown and Dunlap have crossed paths. While Brown won the 2023 US Amateur Stroke Play title, Dunlap went on to win the US Amateur Championship, edging Neal Shipley in the final match.

Brown tied for 26th at the Myrtle Beach Classic in May as an amateur in his first PGA Tour event. He finished at 10-under 209.

In 2023, Brown won the stroke play portion of the US Amateur, considered the nation’s toughest amateur tournament. At age 16, he shot an 8-under 64 at Colorado Golf Club to become the youngest medalist in American amateur history, breaking Jones’ 103-year-old record.

Brown was the 2024 US Junior Amateur medalist, shooting rounds of 66-68 (134) at Oakland Hills Country Club in Detroit to join Woods and Clampett as the only players to medal at both the US Junior and US Amateur .

Brown won three AJGA titles in 2024 and captured the Tennessee State Junior by 12 shots. He also represented the United States on the national junior and junior Presidents Cup teams.

In high school, he attended Brentwood Academy and won three consecutive Division II-AAA TSSAA state championships (2021-23). In 2023, he tied the TSSAA two-day scoring record at 14-under 130 for the tournament.

Brown’s first name comes from his mother, Rhonda Brown, whose maiden name is Blades.

Rhonda Brown led Vanderbilt women’s basketball to its only Final Four during her career from 1991 to 1995 and was the first pick in the 1998 WNBA expansion draft. She made the WNBA’s first 3-pointer in league history in 1997 as a member of the New York Liberty.

Brown’s mother played seven professional seasons in the WNBA and overseas before coaching at Brentwood Academy, where she won five TSSAA basketball state titles in 23 seasons.

Brown’s major golf sponsors include Callaway golf products and Travis Mathew apparel.

He’s also giving a nod to Tennessee golf this week with a custom bag featuring the Tennessee Golf Foundation logo.