Blade Brown is 16 years old and has incredibly broken a 103-year-old U.S. Amateur record originally set by Bobby Jones. He shot a 64 to both break one record and tie another.
16-year-old Blades Brown incredibly breaks Bobby Jones’ 103-year record at U.S. Amateur
Over a century later, the son of a former WNBA star broke Bobby Jones’ U.S. Amateur record as Blade Brown dominated Cherry Hills.
Photo by Central Press/Getty Images
Brown made two eagles, eight birdies and four bogeys on the round Tuesday during the 2023 U.S. Amateur event at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado.
His score made him the youngest co-medalist in U.S. Amateur history. Jones did it at 18 way back in 1920.
The Tennessee native tied with Sampson Zheng for low-medalist to get the first seed in the match play portion.
Brown tied the course record at Colorado Golf Club with his 64.
He was also a co-medalist at the U.S. Amateur qualifier in Tennessee last month. The youngster shot a 65 and 62 at Franklin Bridge Golf Club to get to the big stage in Colorado.
He comes from incredibly athletic genes, as his mom is Rhonda Blades Brown, a former WNBA superstar. She was a starting point guard at Vanderbilt University and the New York Liberty. Rhonda is also a history maker herself, as she made the first-ever three-pointer in 1997.
While her clutch gene rubbed off on her son, it wasn’t enough for him to go all the way in Cherry Hills.
In the round of 64, he beat Benton Weinberg 1-UP to get to the round of 32. However, Brown fell to Jackson Koivun 4 and 3.
He may not have become the youngest U.S. Amateur winner, but Brown still etched his name in the history books.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and on Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
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