Blades Brown made a splash in the world of golf when he competed in and made the cut in last year’s PGA Tour ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic at the age of 16.
He’s back in Myrtle Beach this week, and back on a weekend with greater personal ambitions than just making news.
Brown, 17, turned pro in December and is seeking status this season on either the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour through his play.
He’s tied for 22nd at 5-under 137 entering Saturday’s third round with scores of 66 and 71, having made nine birdies and five bogeys in the first two rounds.
His experience in Myrtle Beach last year helped convince him to forego college golf and take aim at the PGA Tour.
“I’m happy to be back playing the Myrtle Beach Classic. I love this golf course. It’s so cool,” Brown said. “Each event that I play in, I feel like I’m exponentially so much better.”
Brown can’t accept any membership status on the PGA or Korn Ferry tours until he turns 18, which is in less than two weeks on May 21.
Earning status
PGA Tour non-members are allowed seven sponsor exemptions in a season, and Brown is playing this week on his fifth. If he earns Special Temporary Membership, he would be allowed unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season.
To earn Special Temporary Membership, he must accumulate the same number of FedExCup points in his seven starts as the player who finished 150th in FedExCup points in 2024, which was Garrick Higgo with 196 points and nearly $950,000 earned with 15 made cuts, four top-25s and two top-10s.
Brown, of Nashville, has made one cut in four previous PGA Tour events this season at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, where he tied for 34th to earn $35,159.
Myrtle Beach was his only start on the PGA Tour last year and he tied for 26th at 10-under 274 with a 5-under 66 in the third round. He finished the week ranked sixth in driving accuracy and fourth in greens in regulation for the tournament.
With his chances of earning PGA Tour status this year dwindling, Brown has turned his focus to the Korn Ferry Tour, where he already has a runner-up finish in four starts this season.
He even turned down a sponsor exemption to last week’s $9.9 million CJ Cup Byron Nelson to play in the Korn Ferry’s $1 million Tulum Championship at PGA Riviera Maya, where he missed the cut.
The Special Temporary Membership threshold on the Korn Ferry is matching the No. 100 player from the 2024 points list, who had 237.718 points.
Brown has 185.167 points to rank 51st on tour and is allowed just one more Korn Ferry sponsor exemption start. He needs approximately 53 points, which is the equivalent of a 16th-place finish in a standard Korn Ferry event.
Korn Ferry Special Temporary members are eligible for the reshuffle category on the priority ranking, which essentially guarantees a schedule of starts before the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Special Temporary Members can also accept unlimited sponsor exemptions.
Brown could earn 2026 PGA Tour membership by finishing in the top 20 on the final 2025 Korn Ferry points list.
“[My goal] is just getting status,” Brown said. “Ideally that would be on the PGA Tour, but . . . I’m really close to getting Korn Ferry Tour status. I think that would be a great place to start. It’s just having a place to play. If I can get Korn Ferry Tour status, I think that’s step one.
“Obviously if we get the PGA Tour status, I think that’s even better, but I’m willing to grind it out on the Korn Ferry Tour, make some birdies there, and hopefully be on the PGA Tour pretty soon.”
Brown didn’t want to pass up his opportunity to play again in Myrtle Beach, where he made his PGA Tour debut. Brown is also represented by Myrtle Beach Classic tournament operator SportFive.
“When I was thinking about Myrtle Beach or playing in this event again, I was like, ‘This is great. I get to play for the first time in a tournament that I’ve played in the past,’ ” Brown said.
Like last year, Brown has been a featured attraction at The Dunes Club.
“It’s so cool to see the fans,” Brown said. “After I make a putt, everybody just goes to the next tee box, and the guys still have to finish. I mean, I kind of feed off their energy.”
Part of the attraction to him is his affable demeanor on the course and towards the galleries, and he effortlessly speaks like a seasoned veteran to the media.
“I really enjoy playing golf for a living. I know that there are other jobs that aren’t as awesome as this one, but I’m just so blessed to be in the position that I am,” Brown said. “Actually the [standard bearer Thursday] had Downs syndrome. His name was Cam. He was awesome. He was one of the most positive people I’ve ever seen. There’s a lot worse things than getting mad at a golf shot and just beating yourself up. When you look at Cam, and he’s obviously not as fortunate as you are, but just having that mindset. I know that I’m very, very blessed to be in the position that I am.”
A growing resume
Brown accumulated an impressive junior and amateur resume while still in his mid-teens.
In 2023, he was the youngest stroke play co-medalist in U.S. Amateur history, breaking a 103-year-old record previously held by Bobby Jones. He also earned medalist honors at the 2024 U.S. Junior, joining Tiger Woods and Bobby Clampett as players to medal in both the national amateur and junior.
In 2023 he became the first player to be named Tennessee Boys’ Junior and Men’s Player of the Year in the same year, and he reached No. 1 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and was named 2024 AJGA Junior Player of the Year.
He comes from athletic genes, as his mother Rhonda Brown played in the WNBA after being a star point guard at Vanderbilt. His first name is derived from his mother’s maiden name, Blades.
