At 19 years, 4 months and 20 days, Blades Brown became the youngest player ever to earn a PGA Tour card through the Korn Ferry Tour. He secured it by finishing second at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Glen Allen, Virginia, on Sunday, 11 October. He ended the season ninth on the points list, where the top 20 earned cards.
A 61 built the week, the rain unmade the finish
Brown set the tone in the second round with a 10-under 61 to take the halfway lead. That round included back-to-back eagles on the ninth and tenth and closed with five straight birdies. A Saturday 68 left him one shot clear of Austin Hitt going into Sunday.
The final round was played in awful, rainy weather at The Federal Club. Brown shot a 69 but could not hold his lead. Hitt posted a 66 to win by two for his first Korn Ferry Tour title, leaving Brown second at 18 under par.
Brown had entered the final event 14th on the list, so the week moved him up, not down. On the Korn Ferry Tour he made 16 of 18 cuts this season, with two seconds, a third and a fifth. Nineteen other players also earned 2027 PGA Tour cards, Hitt among them.
A record held since 2007, broken at Glen Allen
Brown broke a mark that had stood since 2007, when Jason Day qualified aged 19 years, 11 months and 23 days. It is not his first early record. In 2023, at 16, he shot a course-record 64 at Colorado Golf Club and tied for co-medallist honours at the US Amateur.
His path has been unusual. Brown, a native of Nashville and the son of former WNBA player Rhonda Blades, skipped college and turned professional in December 2024 at 17. On the PGA Tour this season he made nine of 11 cuts, with a solo third at the Puerto Rico Open his best finish.
Of the choice to turn pro, Brown had called it "the best decision that I believe was for me." He will play all of his golf on the PGA Tour from 2027.
