Blades Brown, a 19-year-old golfer from Nashville, won the Worldwide Technology Championship in Mexico on Sunday, becoming the youngest PGA Tour winner in 95 years. Brown, who was born in 2007, beat Ben James in a two-hole playoff to claim his first Tour victory in just his 22nd career start.
Brown began the final round seven shots behind the lead but played his opening 10 holes at 5-under par. With James making the turn at 1-over for the day, Brown kept pressing and shot 5-under on the back nine to force extra holes. James made an eagle on the 72nd hole to send the tournament to a playoff.
On the second playoff hole, James missed a six-foot birdie putt, and Brown made his own five-footer for birdie to win.
“I just go back to 5-year-old Blades that was watching the TV and watching Tiger Woods and all those great players win major championships, and to think that I’m now in a similar spot with having won a PGA Tour event is mind-blowing,” Brown said afterward.
The last time a younger player won on the PGA Tour was 95 years ago, when Charles Kocsis won the 1931 Michigan Open at age 18 — a record that still stands. Brown earned his PGA Tour card earlier this year by finishing in the top 20 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. His win now gives him a full two-year exemption on Tour, along with invitations to the 2027 PGA Championship and Players Championship.
Rahm Wins First Event Since Leaving LIV Golf
Jon Rahm won in Abu Dhabi on the DP World Tour this weekend, his first victory outside LIV Golf since the 2023 Masters and his first start since announcing his departure from the LIV circuit. The win came just weeks after his wife, Kelley, gave birth to the couple’s fourth child.
“In Spain, they have a saying: a newborn comes with bread under the arm; they come bearing gifts,” Rahm said, according to The Mirror. “Another child is another gift, and luckily that’s come true almost every time for me. There’s something to say about the happiness that our family feels once we’ve had a child, and my performance showed it.”
Rahm plans to play the 2027 season on the DP World Tour, as many former LIV players are doing following the circuit’s closure.
DeChambeau Issues Statement on LIV Golf’s Shutdown
Bryson DeChambeau released a statement Sunday addressing LIV Golf’s closure, writing in part: “I believed this game could reach more people, in more places, in a new way. I still believe that. And I gave it everything I had to keep team golf alive.” He added, “Arnold Palmer said no player is bigger than the game, and I want to acknowledge that, along the way, I’ve said some things that didn’t help. Whatever comes next, I’ll approach it with humility and respect for the people who carried this game long before me.”
DeChambeau said he plans to play the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa in early December. If he wants to join the DP World Tour, he must commit by Nov. 15.
