Teenager Brown fires a 60, tied for American Express lead - ESPN

LA QUINTA, Calif — A chaotic week for 18-year-old Blades Brown was an inch away from a most spectacular highlight Friday, when he narrowly missed a 6-foot birdie putt for 59, leaving him tied for the lead in The American Express with Scottie Scheffler.

Brown, who turned pro last year and is weeks removed from graduating high school, needed only one birdie over the final three holes on the Nicklaus Tournament course at PGA West, the easiest of three courses in the rotation in ideal weather.

He hit a gap wedge just right of the pin on his last hole, the par-4 ninth. He had the advantage of seeing David Ford go first on the same line. He picked his spot, rolled the putt and it stayed right, grazing the edge as the gallery groaned.

No matter.

«I'm so stoked,» he said, along with needing what he called a «fat nap.»

Brown earned Korn Ferry Tour status last year and was in the Bahamas for a tournament that didn't end until Wednesday. He used a flight voucher he earned from a top-50 finish in the Myrtle Beach Classic last year to fly private to Palm Springs, arriving at his hotel about 8 p.m. on the eve of The American Express, where he is playing on a sponsor exemption.

And now he goes into the weekend tied with golf's best player.

«We're going to see what happens,» Brown said.

Scheffler wasn't quite as sharp as he was in the opening round and still managed a bogey-free 64, playing in front of the largest gallery and two groups ahead of Brown.

Scheffler has started on the two easiest courses — he faces the Stadium Course on Saturday — and was only 2 under through eight holes. That feels like losing ground. But then he knocked in a birdie at No. 18, made the turn and birdied two of the next three, and then ran off three straight