Blades Brown had a bogey, a double bogey, three birdies and 13 pars for an even-par 72 in his first-ever round as a pro golfer

The 17-year-old Nashville native, already etched in golf’s record books, draws inspiration from Nick Dunlap’s victory at La Quinta last year.

In 2023, at 16, he beat Bobby Jones’ record as the youngest golfer to medal at the U.S. Amateur, and in 2024, he matched Tiger Woods and Bobby Clampett as the only golfers to medal at both the U.S. Junior and U.S. Amateur tournaments. Brown is already sponsored by Callaway and Travis Mathew.

Former Brentwood Academy golf star Blades Brown, 17, is making his pro golf debut this week at the PGA Tour American Express Tournament

Brown, 17, will make his pro debut this week at The American Express in Palm Springs, where Dunlap won as an amateur a year ago.

While younger players and amateurs have been playing strong golf on the PGA Tour in recent years – Dunlap was 20 and a sophomore at the University of Alabama when he won last year – Brown is the youngest golfer to ever play in The American Express. But his swing coach believes Brown has a game that can hold up to the PGA Tour.

The 17-year-old Brown is one of the most intriguing stories at the first event in the mainland United States of 2025. The son of former WNBA player Rhonda Brown, whose maiden name is "Blades," Blades Brown took up golf at eight years old while playing with his father at Richland Country Club in Nashville.

Tony Finau might have had some advice for 17-year-old golfer Blades Brown before Brown decided to turn pro in December. “If I did say go to college, I would be a hypocrite, because I didn't go to college,