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Five things to know: Blades Brown, 17, makes pro debut at The American Express

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Written by Kevin Prise @PGATOURKevin

Blades Brown, 17, will debut as a professional this week at The American Express.

Brown enjoyed an illustrious amateur career before announcing his decision to turn pro last month, eschewing the traditional college golf route to chase his PGA TOUR dreams before he can vote in the United States. Brown, who hails from Nashville, Tennessee, is competing this week on a sponsor exemption.

“I’m just thankful and grateful,” Brown said Tuesday ahead of The American Express. “I'm so pumped. When I was playing (last year’s) Myrtle Beach Classic for my first (TOUR) event, I cannot put into words how I was feeling on that first tee, and ever since then I've been itching to get back out there. So I'm really pumped to be able to play The American Express this week.”

PGA TOUR non-members are allotted seven sponsor exemptions in a season. (Players who earn Special Temporary Membership can accept unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season.) Brown will turn 18 on May 21, at which point he will be eligible to earn PGA TOUR or Korn Ferry Tour status on merit. Players under 18 cannot become PGA TOUR members.

Brown drew inspiration from last year’s winner at The American Express, Nick Dunlap, who became the first amateur in 31 years to win on TOUR. Dunlap won in the Coachella Valley at age 20 – Brown is three years younger and competing as a pro, but Dunlap’s triumph draws a parallel nonetheless.

“Nick has been a huge inspiration for me ever since, because I was watching that live on TV when he made that 6-footer on the 18th green, and it just gave me so much inspiration to know that somebody else similar to my age is able to do that,” Brown said Tuesday.

Here are five things to know about the newly minted pro as he readies for his close-up at The American Express.

1. Why is his name Blades?

Brown’s first name is the maiden name of his mom, Rhonda Blades Brown, who set an example for Brown to pursue a professional sporting career of his own. (More to come on that front.) Brown and his mom are frequent adversaries in pickleball – upon arriving at The American Express, Brown sent her a text asking to bring his pickleball equipment. “The quickness that I have is a little bit faster than hers, but … she's intimidating sometimes, I’ve got to admit,” Brown said Tuesday. “Like, if I go up three or four points, all of a sudden she gets that look on her face and you're like, ‘Uh-oh, do I want to be sacrificing my relationship with my mom right now, or what are we doing here?’ But no, it's a lot of fun to go at it with her.”

2. Why did he turn pro at 17?

Brown, a high school junior, made several college visits before electing to turn pro. His visit to Vanderbilt in his native Nashville occurred during the same weekend as the Alabama vs. Vanderbilt football game, where the Commodores defeated the Crimson Tide in a shocking upset. He ultimately kept returning to one thought – it has long been his dream to compete on the PGA TOUR, and turning his focus to professional golf couldn’t come soon enough.

“There were a lot of trade-offs in every decision that we make, and for me turning professional was a very difficult decision, but it was the best decision that I believe was for me,” Brown said Tuesday. “When someone comes up to you and says, ‘Hey, do you want to play on the PGA TOUR?’ I'm like, ‘Yeah, 100%, let's do it.’ So it was a very difficult decision, but I believe I made the right decision.

“I feel like you're put in a position out here where you have to get better. Playing against people such as Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, I mean you learn from the best. I feel like that's life; you learn each and every day. I'm probably not going to be going to school in college, but I am going to be going to school on the PGA TOUR, so that sounds pretty good to me.”


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      Best of Blades Brown at Myrtle Beach Classic


      3. His mom made women’s basketball history.

      Brown’s mom, Rhonda Blades Brown, played professional basketball in the WNBA and was the first player to make a three-point shot in the WNBA’s inaugural 1997 season, competing for the New York Liberty. Prior to turning pro, she guided Vanderbilt to two SEC titles and a Final Four appearance; she was also inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. Her son also enjoys the game of basketball, noting Tuesday that one of his goals this year is to dunk a basketball. Brown’s older sister Millie plays Division II college basketball for the University of Alabama in Huntsville; the duo had ample back-and-forth in their formative years. “So she thought that since I was this 4-foot-9 midget that she could just bulldoze me in every sport ever,” Brown laughed Tuesday. “Then once I started to get a little height and get taller, she had a humbling moment, I'll leave it at that.”

      4. His amateur accomplishments tie to Woods, Jones.

      As an amateur, Brown toppled a record that had stood for more than a century. He earned stroke-play medalist honors at the 2023 U.S. Amateur, just 16 at the time, surpassing World Golf Hall of Famer Bobby Jones, who set the record in 1920 at age 18. Brown also earned medalist honors at the 2024 U.S. Junior, joining Tiger Woods and Bobby Clampett as players to medal at both national championships. (Brown fell to eventual winner Trevor Gutschewski, son of veteran TOUR pro Scott Gutschewski, in the Round of 32). Along with fellow Tennessean Jackson Herrington, Brown finished runner-up in the 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at Philadelphia Cricket Club. Prior to turning pro, Brown stood No. 1 on the Rolex AJGA Rankings and was named 2024 AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year. He won three consecutive state titles for Nashville’s Brentwood Academy (2021-23); after his sophomore year in 2023-24, he opted for online schooling to better manage his golf schedule.

      5. His PGA TOUR debut was a success.

      Not only did Brown make the cut in his TOUR debut at last year’s Myrtle Beach Classic, he closed in rounds of 66-69 for a T26 finish. It was validation that he could hang at the game’s highest level, that his talent translated from the amateur to professional game. Brown ranked sixth for the week in Driving Accuracy, fourth in Greens in Regulation, and he outpaced several longtime TOUR pros on the leaderboard in South Carolina. “It was awesome to know that I was working on the right things, to be able to know that I could compete on the PGA TOUR,” Brown said of that week’s significance. He’ll put that belief to the test, this week and beyond.

      Kevin Prise is an associate editor for the PGA TOUR. He is on a lifelong quest to break 80 on a course that exceeds 6,000 yards and to see the Buffalo Bills win a Super Bowl. Follow Kevin Prise on Twitter.

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