How Blades Brown, 16, fared in PGA Tour debut at Myrtle Beach Classic

Brentwood Academy sophomore Blades Brown’s PGA Tour debut had a little bit of everything. 

The 16-year-old and top-ranked golfer in the Class of 2026 shot a 1-over 72 in the Myrtle Beach Classic first round Thursday, making five birdies but also six bogeys. 

Brown, who is playing the tournament on a sponsor exemption, enters the second round tied for 89th. He was 1 under with two holes to play and finished with two bogeys. 

He's scheduled to tee off at 11:47 a.m. (CT) Friday with playing partners Thorbjørn Olesen and Adrien Dumont de Chassart. Golf Channel’s tournament coverage will run from 10:30-12:30 central.

Beau Hossler leads the Myrtle Beach Classic by one shot after posting a 7-under 64. Former Vanderbilt and Montgomery Bell Academy star Brandt Snedeker is tied for 104th at 2 over. 

The first-year tournament is being played alongside the PGA Tour’s main event this week, the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Brown, who has won three consecutive TSSAA individual state titles, is the latest teenage phenom to play a PGA Tour sponsored event. England’s Kris Kim, 16, debuted at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson last week. Miles Russell, 15, tied for 20th at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Lecom Suncoast Classic last month.

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Brown is ranked No. 4 in the AJGA rankings and No. 176 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He made national headlines in August when he broke Bobby Jones’ record as the youngest medalist in U.S. Amateur history, tying for first place in the tournament's stroke play portion. Brown was eliminated in the match play portion in the Round of 32.

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That performance is what led to him playing in Myrtle Beach. Brown became a client of Sportfive sports marketing agency and has NIL deals with Callaway and New Jersey-based Transcend Capital Advisors. 

Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83.