How Blades Brown, 16, rallied to make the cut in PGA Tour debut at Myrtle Beach Classic

Blades Brown refused to let his PGA Tour debut end after 36 holes.

The 16-year-old Brentwood Academy sophomore caught fire to make the cut at the Myrtle Beach Classic, shooting a 4-under 67 in Friday's second round to qualify for the weekend.

Brown made five birdies in all and closed with four in his final nine holes. That included back-to-back birdies on holes No. 6 and 7, part of his back nine after he teed off on No. 10 to start the day. He recorded just one bogey after making six in his 1-over 72 opening round Thursday.

"A wise man once told me that the tournament starts on the back nine on Sunday, and for me, I know today is not Sunday, but . . . that was the Sunday back nine for me," Brown said. "I just said, 'OK, whatever happens, happens.' "

Brown is 3-under 139 for the tournament and tied for 48th, up 41 spots from the first round. There were 70 players who made the cut, which was at 2-under. Chris Gotterup leads at 12-under.

Brown received a sponsor exemption to play in Myrtle Beach this week while the PGA Tour’s main event, the Wells Fargo Championship, is being played in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the top-ranked golfer in the Class of 2026, No. 4 in the AJGA rankings and No. 176 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

He became the second consecutive 16-year-old to make the cut in a PGA Tour-sponsored event. England’s Kris Kim, 16, did so at last week's CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Miles Russell, 15, tied for 20th at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Lecom Suncoast Classic last month.

Brown got some motivation to start the day from his mom, Rhonda Blades Brown, a former Vanderbilt women's basketball player and WNBA New York Liberty star.

"I was like, OK, I can either make the cut or do homework tomorrow and feel bad about myself. My mom was kind of throwing that at me this morning, and I was like, all right, Mom," Brown said. "It definitely feels surreal. After I made that putt on 9, that little 2-inch putt, I was like, yes, I can go chill by the beach."

Brown began his back nine one shot below the cut line after a bogey on his ninth hole, but birdied two of his next three holes. He ranks 14th in the field with 10 birdies in two rounds.

He finished Friday above multiple past PGA Tour winners, including former Vanderbilt and Montgomery Bell Academy star Brandt Snedeker (5-over), Aaron Baddeley (1-under), Ryan Moore (1-under), Bill Haas (1-under) and Kevin Kisner (even).

More: How 16-year-old phenom Blades Brown may be among best golfers in Tennessee history

"Yesterday was my first time ever playing a PGA Tour event, so I was a little nerve-wracked the whole day," Brown said. "Today I felt a lot better. Today I felt like I was playing golf that I know how to play."

His exemption at Myrtle Beach stems from his record-breaking performance in last summer’s U.S. Amateur, the nation’s premier amateur championship. 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 but earned recognition as one of the nation's top rising stars.

He became a client of Sportfive sports marketing agency and now has NIL deals with Callaway and New Jersey-based Transcend Capital Advisors.

Brown has been on the radar in Tennessee for some time. He has won three consecutive TSSAA Division II-AA individual titles and last season set the Tennessee Junior Amateur Championship record for the lowest score in tournament history, finishing 22-under in 54 holes.

In 2023, he was the first to win Tennessee Boys’ Junior and Men’s Player of the Year honors in the same year.

More: How Blades Brown, 16, is approaching PGA Tour debut at Myrtle Beach Classic

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

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Blades Brown, 16, makes cut in PGA Tour debut at Myrtle Beach Classic