LA QUINTA, Calif. – Andrew Novak listened intently as an energetic Blades Brown recounted his round. Or rather, Novak listened as Brown bemoaned one of his lone mistakes – his tee shot on the closing hole, the ninth hole at the Nicklaus Tournament Course, which found the rough and led to a bogey.
“So it could’ve been a 63?” Novak asked.
Brown smiled, then nodded regretfully.
“Must be nice, I don’t even know what a birdie feels like,” Novak said, laughing.
What a difference a day makes. Brown left Thursday’s round at La Quinta Country Club with immense gratitude but a tinge of regret after a so-so even-par round at the easiest course on The American Express rota.
That wasn’t how Brown, 17, envisioned his first pro start. Friday was more like it, even if he bogeyed the last.
The standout junior, who turned heads last month when he announced he was forgoing college to turn professional, shot a scintillating 8-under 64 that flashed all Brown’s immense potential. After bogeying his second hole of the day, the par-5 11th, Brown birdied eight of the next nine holes, jumping from the cutline to the edge of contention in his first pro event.
“I like to make golf simple, and yesterday I didn’t make golf simple,” Brown said, “but just trying to hit as many fairways and greens as I could, luckily today that was the case.”
A freed-up Brown hit 11 fairways and 16 greens on Friday, finally able to feel like he was just playing golf after a rollercoaster few months culminated yesterday with the start of his pro career. No press conferences (until later) or contracts to sign. Just golf. And Brown continued to look and play the part of the starstruck teen still pinching himself he’s here.
Justin Thomas tapped him on the back while warming up on the range Friday morning and told him to go low. “Well, if Justin Thomas says to go low, I should probably go low,” Brown said. His parents walked every hole with their son, giddy with every added birdie. His dad stood proudly filming Brown’s post-round Golf Channel interview and gave him a bear hug right after. And then Brown shared wisdom beyond his years while doing another round of media.
“I play golf right now for a living, and I promise you, there are a lot more challenging things than playing golf for a living,” he said. “Whether it’s a kid lying in a bed with cancer, there’s a lot to be grateful for out here. I think keeping it in perspective that you get to play golf for free on an unbelievable golf course and with awesome people, so I think just keeping it in perspective definitely helped me today.”
That attitude is ever-present, those who know him say. Charley Hoffman, the man at the top of the leaderboard that Brown is trying to chase down, called him “polished.” He captained Brown at last year’s Junior Presidents Cup. Hoffman recalled getting up at 5 a.m. to hit the gym. Brown had already beaten him there.
“I don’t know if I had that work ethic at 17 — I promise you I didn’t,” Hoffman said. “I didn’t know what the gym was.”
That will serve Brown well as he enters the next phase of his career, the most challenging so far. Not yet a member on the PGA TOUR, Brown will have to survive off sponsor exemptions (a maximum of eight per season) and Monday qualifiers, which he will hope to parlay into status. It’s not an easy task, but if Friday was any indication, it’s more than plausible.
“The future’s very bright for him,” Hoffman said. “It’s not easy out here though and hopefully he has a lot of success, but it’s a tough training ground out here on the PGA TOUR.”
