La Quinta, Calif – 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.
American Express leaderboard
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.
Reed takes lead in Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Patrick Reed moved into the lead at the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday and has a familiar foe trying to chase him down over the weekend.
Rory McIlroy sounds up for the fight, too.
“I came from 10 behind a couple years ago to win,” the No. 2-ranked McIlroy said defiantly. “I think I’m seven back at the minute.”
McIlroy sure will need to improve to reel in Reed, the former Masters champion who kept his card clean and shot 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead after the second round at Emirates Golf Club.
Reed, a LIV Golf member who plays frequently on the European tour, made four birdies and a 40-footer for eagle at the par-5 13th. The American was on 9-under 135 for the week.
McIlroy birdied the par-5 18th to shoot 69 and repair some of the damage from a 72 in the first round.
Few know the course better than McIlroy, the record four-time champion – including in 2024 when he was 11 shots back heading onto the 18th hole on the Friday yet still won, and in 2023 when he outlasted Reed in a memorable final-round duel that got personal.
Throw in their loud singles match at the Ryder Cup in 2016, won by Reed, and they certainly have some history.
“If I go out there tomorrow, maybe in slightly better conditions in the morning, and post a low one, then I’ll be right in the mix come Sunday,” said McIlroy, who was tied for 20th.
Reed, who has placed second and 10th in his two other appearances at the Dubai Desert Classic, said he was happy with his game, having started with a round of 69 in much tougher conditions.
“The good thing is today I felt like (I’m) hitting the ball exactly where I need to and I feel like I’m hitting some solid putts,” Reed said.
Andy Sullivan finished birdie-eagle to shoot 65 – the lowest round of the day – and was alone in second place, one stroke ahead of Italian pair Andrea Pavan (68) and first-round leader Francesco Molinari (72).
Johnson misses cut
Dustin Johnson, the longtime former No. 1, was the biggest name to miss the cut after a second straight 74.
The American is becoming an afterthought in golf after moving to the breakaway LIV circuit in 2022, the same year as Reed, and has slid to No. 639 in the world ranking.
Fleetwood languishing
No. 3-ranked Tommy Fleetwood is another headliner in Dubai, where he now lives, but only just made the cut after struggling to a 72 to be 10 shots off the lead.
Better placed was Tyrrell Hatton, the defending champion who shot 69 and was in sixth place, four strokes off the lead.
Hatton, another LIV golfer, chipped in for eagle at the short par-4 No. 17 for his highlight of the day.
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