17-year-old Blades Brown will skip college golf, announces when he will make PGA Tour debut
12/17/2024 11:04 AM
Blades Brown, who is one of the top junior golfers in the country, will head straight to the professional ranks.
Blades Brown took to his Instagram to announce that he will turn professional in January 2025.
The 17-year-old will make his first pro start at The American Express in January, the third event of the PGA Tour season held in Palm Springs, California. It will mark his second PGA Tour start overall. Brown tied for 26th at the Myrtle Beach Classic this past May, posting rounds of 67-66-69 over the final 54 holes to post a total of 10-under.
"This is not a decision that I take lightly, and I have spent the past months weighing all possible options before deciding on what I know is best for me," Brown wrote on Instagram.
"While I am proud of the accomplishments of my amateur career, I am focused on the future and getting off to a strong start in my professional career."
The Nashville, Tennessee native has had a remarkable amateur career, which includes breaking Bobby Jones' record at the 2023 U.S. Amateur. He was the youngest co-medalist in the event's illustrious history.
This year, Brown earned medalist honors again, but this time at the U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills. He shot 6-under over that 36-hole stretch, which saw him join Tiger Woods and Bobby Clampett in the history books as the only golfers to medal at both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur.
He most recently reached the second stage of the PGA Tour Q-School and then turned down an invitation to practice with the U.S. Walker Cup team, the amateur equivalent of the Ryder Cup. That decision led many to speculate that a move to the professional ranks was on the horizon.
Of course, the American Express is where Nick Dunlap won his first PGA Tour title last January, thus becoming the first amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win on tour. Perhaps Brown can follow in his footsteps but as a teenage pro.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
