Blades Brown, 17, falters late to miss cut at The American Express in pro debut

Blades Brown, 17, made his professional debut at The American Express this week, but his name and game are already making waves across the PGA TOUR landscape.

After moving inside the projected cut line with a second-round 64 at the Nicklaus Tournament Course – which included eight birdies in a nine-hole stretch around the turn – Brown was greeted by veteran Charley Hoffman before Saturday’s third round at the Pete Dye Stadium Course. (The American Express uses a three-course rotation and a 54-hole cut to the top 65 and ties, with the final round played at the Pete Dye Stadium Course.)

Hoffman has made 517 career PGA TOUR starts, including four titles, and he has seen countless pros cycle up and down across the PGA TOUR and its Pathways circuits. But he knew what Brown did Friday and wanted to offer his respect.

“I saw Charley Hoffman on the putting green this morning, and he was like, ‘Okay, kid. Okay kid,’” Brown recounted Saturday afternoon.

Brown couldn’t keep pace in the third round at the Pete Dye Stadium Course, the most difficult of The American Express’ three courses, as he struggled to a 2-over 74, including an ill-timed water ball and double bogey at the island-green, par-3 17th. He was one inside the cut line with five holes to play Saturday, but he played those final five holes in 4-over. Brown finished at 6-under 210, three strokes off the cut line; 71 players advanced to Sunday’s final round at 9-under 207 or better.

Sepp Straka assumed the 54-hole lead at 23-under total, four strokes clear of Hoffman, Jason Day and Justin Lower.

Brown turned pro in December, energized by a T26 finish at last year’s Myrtle Beach Classic (his first career TOUR start) and the idea of developing his game in lockstep with the world’s best players. The Nashville, Tennessee, native visited several colleges before making his decision to turn pro, and he received a sponsor exemption to begin his professional career at The American Express.

After starting in a pedestrian even-par 72 at La Quinta Country Club, Brown turned on the jets in Friday’s second round – carding 10 birdies against two bogeys – to move inside the projected cut line at the time. He continued to ascend the leaderboard with three birdies in his first five holes Saturday, but he failed to record another birdie on the day; he bogeyed No. 7, 14 and 15 before a frustrating par at the par-5 16th (failing to get up and down from 48 yards) and the water ball-turned-double bogey at No. 17.

It wasn’t the ideal finish for Brown, who plans to stay in California for the Farmers Insurance Open’s Monday qualifier, but he projected minimal angst when meeting the media Saturday afternoon.

“It was a blast competing on the PGA TOUR,” Brown said Saturday. “Unfortunately, I wasn't able to convert coming down the stretch, but, I mean, a lot of practice. I'm glad I'm doing it right now; that way I can learn. My dad always says, ‘You win and you learn,’ and I'm definitely going to learn from this experience.”

As the adage goes, life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react. Brown fell short of the cut line Saturday in the Coachella Valley, but he’ll have ample runway to make it up.

Last year, Nick Dunlap made par on the 72nd hole at The American Express to earn his first TOUR title as a college sophomore. He’s now a professional and a two-time TOUR winner, but he faced another short putt with high stakes Saturday at the Pete Dye Stadium Course: a 5-footer to make the cut, after racing his 43-foot birdie putt beyond the hole. He drained it center-cut to advance to Sunday’s final round in the Coachella Valley.

Others to make the cut on the number at 9-under included Sam Burns, Harris English, Patrick Rodgers and recent PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry graduate Alejandro Tosti, who went 5-under for his final 12 holes at La Quinta Country Club.

Veteran Joel Dahmen missed by one stroke at 8-under, a frustrating outcome after an opening-round 64 at the Nicklaus Tournament Course (he followed that with scores of 71-73). A week after withdrawing from the Sony Open in Hawaii due to tonsillitis, Michael Thorbjornsen also missed by a stroke, hitting a water ball off the tee at the Pete Dye Stadium Course’s par-4 18th hole Saturday en route to a double bogey.

Other notables to miss the cut included Tony Finau (7-under), Zach Johnson (7-under), Tom Kim (6-under), Sungjae Im (6-under), Wyndham Clark (5-under) and Kevin Kisner (2-over).