The American Express Round 2: Blades Brown, 18, Shoots 60 to Tie Scottie Scheffler for the Lead

An 18-year-old stood over a 6-foot putt for 59 on Friday afternoon at PGA West. It grazed the edge and stayed out, and Blades Brown still walked off with a 60, a course record and a share of the lead with the best player in the world.

Brown and Scottie Scheffler are tied at 17-under 127 at the halfway point of The American Express. Si Woo Kim, the 2021 champion here, is one back after a 65 on the Stadium Course. S.H. Kim and Matt McCarty sit at 15 under, and 11 players are within three shots of the top.

Six Feet From History

Brown started on the back nine of the Nicklaus Tournament Course and did not ease in. Six birdies and a 25-foot eagle putt on the 11th had Brown at 8 under through seven holes. By the 15th hole of the round, Brown was 12 under for the day and needed one birdie over the last three to break 60.

The chance came on the par-4 ninth, Brown's final hole. A gap wedge settled just right of the flag, and Brown even got a read by watching playing partner David Ford's putt on the same line. The 6-footer slid by on the edge. A make would have made Brown the youngest player in PGA TOUR history to shoot in the 50s.

"I'm so stoked," Brown said, before admitting a "fat nap" was next on the schedule.

The 60 is a course record on the Nicklaus Tournament layout, per CBS Sports. It also arrives with a travel story that makes it even stranger. Brown, who turned pro last year and has Korn Ferry Tour status, was in the Bahamas for a Korn Ferry event that ended Wednesday and finished tied for 17th there. A flight voucher earned with a top-50 finish at the Myrtle Beach Classic got Brown to Palm Springs on a private plane, and Brown reached the hotel around 8 p.m. the night before Thursday's first round. This week's start came on a sponsor exemption.

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

Scheffler Stays Clean

Two groups ahead, Scheffler was working through the biggest gallery of the day, and the start was slow by Scheffler's standards. The world No. 1 was only 2 under through eight holes.

"I didn't get off to the start I would have hoped to get off to today," Scheffler said.

Then the familiar gears engaged. A birdie on the 18th, Scheffler's ninth hole, flipped the momentum. Scheffler made two more birdies in the next three holes and closed with three straight late for a bogey-free 64, keeping a clean card through 36 holes in the first start of the season.

Scheffler had plenty to say about the teenager matching that 36-hole total. "So he's in form," Scheffler said with a smile. "It sounds like an 18-year-old shooting 59 is a pretty good start to his career there."

Scheffler also had a broader point about the next generation. "These kids coming out, they know they got to come out and make some birdies," Scheffler said.

Si Woo Kim Survives the Hard Course

Kim did the hard part on Friday. With the Stadium Course playing as the toughest test in the rotation, Kim shot a 7-under 65 there to reach 16 under. Kim won this tournament in 2021 and has now handled the difficult part of the rotation while staying one shot off the lead.

Wyndham Clark posted 64 on the Stadium Course, the best score there on Friday, and joined a crowd at 14 under that also includes Rickie Fowler, Eric Cole, Nico Echavarria, Jacob Bridgeman and Nick Taylor.

Scheffler, who still has the Stadium Course to come, made it clear the third round will be a different animal. "That golf course is a lot tougher than these other two, ball-striking-wise. You've got to get the ball in play," Scheffler said, per CBS Sports.

Putnam's Own 60

Brown was not the only player who flirted with 59. At almost the same moment, Andrew Putnam was on the 18th at La Quinta Country Club needing a birdie to break 60. Putnam made par for a 60 that ties the course record there. After an opening 72, it was a jump of more than 100 spots into the top 20.

Tony Finau delivered one more highlight, holing a wedge from the fairway for eagle on the ninth at the Nicklaus course. Finau sits at 8 under heading into the cut round.

Saturday Is the Sorting Round

The American Express does not cut the field until all three courses are played, which makes Saturday the day the leaderboard gets honest. Scheffler and Brown both head to the Stadium Course, while Kim has that box checked. A sold-out Friday crowd already got its money's worth, and the weekend now has the storyline every tournament wants: the world No. 1 and an 18-year-old sharing the lead.

Nobody in the top group can afford a soft round, not with 11 players inside three shots and the cut waiting at the end of Saturday's 18.

Catch up on Thursday in our Round 1 recap. For more detail, see the PGA TOUR's Round 2 recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 2 recap), AP, ESPN, CBS Sports. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.