Blades Brown became the youngest PGA Tour winner in 88 years on Sunday, when the 19-year-old came from seven shots behind with a 9-under 63 and beat Ben James with a birdie on the second playoff hole in the World Wide Technology Championship. Blades Brown, at 19 years and 171 days, is the youngest winner on the tour since Bobby Dunkelberger won the St. Augustine Pro-Amateur in 1938 at the age of 18, according to ESPN. The win at El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos, Mexico, was the first PGA Tour title of his career, and it came in only his 22nd start on the tour.
Blades Brown started the final round seven strokes behind the leader, and his 63 was the round of the day. He then held his nerve in the playoff against James, another young player, and a birdie on the second extra hole settled it after James missed a short putt. The win makes Brown the first teenager to win on the PGA Tour since Jordan Spieth, who won the John Deere Classic in 2013 at 19 years and 352 days.
The Associated Press counts the record differently, and says Brown is the youngest winner in 95 years, since Charles Kocsis won the Michigan Open in 1931 at 18. That event was seen as a regional event in the early years of the PGA. By either count, Brown is the fourth youngest winner in tour history, behind Kocsis, Harry Cooper and Ralph Guldahl, and the youngest of the modern era.
Blades Brown and the road to the tour
Blades Brown turned professional at 17, while still a junior in high school, a choice that surprised many in the game. He earned his PGA Tour card for 2027 by finishing among the top 20 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list, and he has split this year between the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour. The win in Mexico now gives him a two year exemption, which puts him in the elite Championship Series when the PGA Tour starts its new model in 2028.
The victory also gives Brown a place in his first major next year, at the PGA Championship. He is one of several young players who grew up watching Tiger Woods win big tournaments, and he has said Woods inspired him to play. The course at El Cardonal was designed by Woods, and Brown joined Woods and Bobby Clampett as the only players to win medalist honours at both the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Junior Amateur.
Brown was 19 years, 5 months and 18 days old on Sunday, nearly six months younger than Spieth was for his first win. The numbers put him in rare company, and they also show how early he has arrived at the top level of the game.
Blades Brown and the playoff in Los Cabos
The playoff was a meeting of two rising players. James, like Brown, is seen as one of the young stars of the game, and the two of them played the extra holes in front of a crowd that had watched Brown charge through the field. Brown birdied the second extra hole after a short miss by James, and he celebrated with his father, Parke Brown, after the putt dropped.
Blades Brown will now have a full schedule to plan for 2027, with his tour card secure and a two year exemption in hand. The win in Mexico also lifts Blades Brown into the field for the PGA Championship, and it gives him ranking points that will shape his season. His first title came in only his 22nd start, and it arrived before his 20th birthday.
The win caps a year in which Brown has moved from the Korn Ferry Tour to the main tour and now to a winner on it. His 63 on Sunday was the lowest round of the final day, and it turned a seven shot gap into a title. Blades Brown is now the youngest PGA Tour winner in 88 years, and his first title has come before his 20th birthday.