Blades Brown has been considered a golf prodigy for some time, and after making his PGA Tour debut at 16, he turned professional soon after.
However, there’s far more to the Nashville player than his extraordinary abilities on the golf course, including talents in other sports.
Here are 15 things you may not know about the up-and-coming star.
Blades Brown Facts
1. Blades Brown was born on 21 May 2007 in Nashville, Tennessee.
2. Per PGATour.com, Blades’ unusual first name comes from his mom Rhonda’s maiden name.
3. Rhonda played professional basketball in the WNBA – a sport Blades also enjoys playing.
4. His older sister Millie is at the University of Alabama, where she plays Division II basketball. In an interview in January 2025, she admitted that Blades used to be better at the game than her.
While 17-year-old golf phenom Blades Brown is making a name for himself at The American Express, his sister, Millie, is preparing for some GSC action at UAH.The Chargers' (@UAH_WBB) guard says her brother is also a talented basketball player: pic.twitter.com/JX2o0RTHvbJanuary 17, 2025
5. Nowadays, Rhonda and Blades regularly play pickleball against one another.
6. At the 2023 US Amateur, at the age of 16, Blades broke a record that had stood for 103 years, set by Bobby Jones, to become the youngest medalist in the history of the event.
7. During the same tournament, he broke the course record with a 64 at one of the best courses in Colorado, Colorado Golf Club.
8. Those feats naturally led to Brown’s progression being compared to a young Tiger Woods, and the following year, he earned medalist honors at the US Junior, joining the 15-time Major winner and Bobby Clampett as the only players to earn medalist honors at both events.
9. Blades won three successive Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association individual state championships between 2021 and 2023.
10. During his amateur career, he also reached the top of the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
11. Blades’ dad, Parke, is a big influence on him, and he regularly attends his tournaments – something he was still able to do even after undergoing chemotherapy for hairy cell leukemia early in 2023.
12. In March 2024, Blades signed a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal with Transcend Capital Advisors.
13. Blades’ first PGA Tour event came when he was still 16 at the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic, where he finished T26.
14. He announced he was turning pro in December that year, foregoing the more traditional route of a college career.
15. His first event as a professional came in The American Express, where he appeared on a sponsor’s exemption, although he missed the cut.
