Blaise Brown, 18, missed a 6-foot putt on the final hole at the American Express Open for an incredible 59, but still finished tied for the course record with Scotty Scheffler for the lead after two rounds.
Brown needed birdies on his final three holes, but he hit a mean second shot on the par-5 seventh and scrambled for par, then had to settle for par again on the par-3 eighth.
He was now one hole away from making a birdie that would go down in the history books, but his attempt was pushed to the right and over the hole. As a result, he made a short putt and set a course record of 60.
It was the lowest round in PGA Tour history by an 18-year-old since 1983, and he is tied with Scheffler at the top of the leaderboard with a total of 17 under.
Brown’s moment came on Friday, as he posted a strong 67 in the first round. But he will struggle with the fact that he is so close to becoming the 16th player in history to shoot 59 points on the PGA Tour.
And did Brown feel the pressure on the final hole?
“Of course, of course we did,” Brown said.
“I stuck to my game plan and executed a game plan that I could control. I didn’t accomplish that this time, but I’m very happy.”
“Actually, I was very calm and just looking at how beautiful this golf course is. I was just looking at the water out there.”
“Sometimes when I need something to calm me down, I just say, ‘I’m going to take this shot that I can and putt this line that I see.’
“Unfortunately I didn’t get the prize, but I’m satisfied with today’s result.
“Scotty is an unbelievable player and to see my name next to his on the leaderboard.
“This weekend I’m going to focus on making as many shots as I can and seeing what happens.
“I’m going to go take a nap, I’ll prepare it tomorrow.”
Starting on the back nine, Brown raised eyebrows and turned heads with six birdies and an eagle, turning the corner without dropping a shot, hitting 8 under par with pars on the 17th and 18th.
His front nine wasn’t all that impressive, but he made birdies on No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6, heading into the final three holes where he needed one birdie to make history.
Things were made even more dramatic on Wednesday afternoon by the fact that the 18-year-old finished 17th at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour, his second race of the season. He then flew more than 3,000 miles to California without a practice round to join American Express.
Meanwhile, Scheffler is now tied with the leading teenager at 17 under after posting a sensational 12-under 60 with eight birdies and no bogeys in the first round of 63 and second round 64.
You can watch every round of American Express live on Sky Sports Golf. The Saturday morning broadcast will take place from 4:30 p.m. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, and more now.
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