Blades Brown (born May 21, 2007) is an American professional golfer from Nashville, Tennessee who at age 16 broke Bobby Jones' record as the youngest medalist at stroke play in U.S. Amateur history. [1] Bobby Jones set the record at age 18 (1920), and it remained unbroken for 103 years. Brown turned professional in January 2025. [2]
His father, Parke Brown, is a Nashville businessman who practiced golf with Blades at Nashville's Richland Country Club since Blades was eight years old. The father said, "He's not always winning. . . he's growing and showing he's resilient". [3] From childhood, Brown was taught basketball as well as golf. [4] Brown's mother Rhonda Blades played professional basketball in the WNBA, and was the first player in the WNBA to score a 3-point goal. [5] She was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. [6] His older sister Millie was the main basketball protégé of their mother. [4] Millie made more than 220 three-pointers in her high school basketball career, leading her team to win the state high school championship in 2018. [4] She played college basketball at UNC Asheville and University of Alabama Huntsville. Blades said his main childhood mission was "to be as good of a shooter as my sister is." [4] His mother, Rhonda, said, "I've taught and coached high school kids for 24 and a half years, and Blades a little different. He's a little more mature...his personality is perfect for the golf course." [3]
In 2023, the 16-year-old Brown, then a high school sophomore, shot a course record 64 at Colorado Golf Club during the 123rd U.S. Amateur hosted at Cherry Hills Country Club, tying for first place in the tournament's stroke play portion. [5] Brown went on to win the 2023 Elite Invitational at the Tradition Golf Club in Pawleys Island, South Carolina with a final-round 64. The Tennessean named him high school "Sportsperson of the Year" for 2024. [3]
He earned entry into the national golf tournament after playing a qualifying round in July 2023, at the Franklin Bridge Golf Club in Franklin, Tennessee, where he shot a 62 in the final round. [7] His impressive performance in the U.S. Amateur opened the door to a sponsor's exemption allowing him to compete in his first PGA Tour event, the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic. [8] At Myrtle Beach, he made the cut and tied for 26th, finishing 10 under par. [9] As of November, 2024, he is ranked no. 1 in the Junior Golf Scoreboard, no. 1 in the American Junior Golf Association and no. 79 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. [10] [9]
In May 2024, he and fellow Tennessean Jackson Herrington finished runner-up in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball to Brian Blanchard and Sam Engel. [11] Brown won three consecutive TSSAA golf individual state championships (2021–2023) for his high school, Nashville's Brentwood Academy. [9] In July 2024, after his sophomore year, he announced he would leave his high school to better manage his golf schedule, and that he planned to continue his studies online with Laurel Springs School. [10] However, on December 17, 2024, he announced that, despite being pursued by the nation's top collegiate programs, he had decided to forego college golf and pursue a full-time professional career. [12] Brown said he was proud of his amateur accomplishments, but wanted to focus on his pro career, saying, "I am delighted to make my professional debut (at the American Express Golf Tournament)". [12] By this time he was being represented by a sports marketing agency, and had NIL deals with Callaway and a New Jersey-based financial advisory firm. [12]
At his debut as a pro golfer at The American Express on the PGA Tour in January, 2025, Brown started with even par the first round, and a 64 in the second. This latter score was the third lowest in a PGA Tour event by a player under age 18 in the past 40 years. [13] However, his third round produced a 2-over-par 74, and he missed the cut by 3 strokes. He played under a sponsor's exemption; his management company, Sportfive, ran the tournament. [13] The PGA Tour allows up to seven sponsor's exemptions per year, and this year, the exemptions are thought to be the key for his Tour success in the 2025 season. [13]