Blades Brown had the opportunity to make his sixth PGA start, teeing off alongside the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth at Byron Nelson.
Blades Brown has been the talk of the town since bursting onto the professional scene. Having already accepted four exemptions this year, the teenager is slowly becoming a common face amongst the PGA Tour roster.
Brown made his first professional PGA Tour start in January at the American Express. While he did miss the cut, Brown shot an incredible second-round 64, the lowest scorecarded by someone under the age of 18 in the last 40 years.
The youngster has decided against making his PGA Tour return at the end of April.
Blades Brown’s focus is elsewhere after missing Byron Nelson
Brown has chosen to give up his exemption, instead looking to continue his quest to climb up the Korn Ferry Tour (KFT) rankings.
He recently made the third Korn Ferry start of his career at the Veritex Bank Championship. After four phenomenal rounds, he picked up a T2 finish, only three shots off the winner, Johnny Keefer.
His finish has won the youngster a place on the Tulum Championship in Mexico, which happens to fall on the same weekend as the Byron Nelson, where Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth are both making an appearance.
However, with just one KFT exemption remaining, guaranteeing himself as many starts as possible will help him push for a temporary membership on the tour.
The result has seen Brown catapulted up the rankings, flying from 140th to 44th on the KFT points list.
He now needs just 53 more points to earn a special temporary membership. Brown will be hoping these two guaranteed starts will allow him to do just that.
If he achieves the feat, he will then be able to push for a top-20 season finish in the points list, guaranteeing the teenager a PGA tour card.
Brown hoping to make his dreams a reality
Brown has long been dreaming of playing on the PGA Tour. While he has made a handful of appearances, every golfer longs for a tour card, enabling consistent entry into PGA Tour events.
Brown said: “It was awesome to know that I was working on the right things to be able to compete on the PGA Tour,” Brown revealed in a press conference prior to his first PGA Tour start in January.
“That’s something I love to do, I love to compete.
“It’s been a dream of mine for forever, to be able to play on the PGA Tour. When that decision came across on the table I said, ‘You know, let’s not make the decision just yet, but let’s keep it in the back of our heads’.”
His dreams may have already come true, with numerous appearances and low scores already on tour. However, earning a highly sought-after PGA Tour card will allow him to live his dreams week in and week out.
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