Nashville Teen Blades Brown 1 Shot Off American Express Lead
- -- Blades Brown, 18, showed poise under pressure Saturday, finishing with three consecutive birdies to tie world No.
- Kim shot a 6-under 66 and benefited from playing La Quinta Country Club as wind arrived in the Coachella Valley.
- Brown, from Nashville, Tennessee, is playing his seventh straight round after coming from a Korn ferry Tour event in the Bahamas.
LA QUINTA,Calif. — Blades Brown, 18, showed poise under pressure Saturday, finishing with three consecutive birdies to tie world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. both are one shot behind Si Woo Kim heading into the final round of The American Express.
Kim shot a 6-under 66 and benefited from playing La Quinta Country Club as wind arrived in the Coachella Valley. Scheffler and Brown, playing the more challenging Stadium Course at PGA West, each carded a 68.
Brown, from Nashville, Tennessee, is playing his seventh straight round after coming from a Korn ferry Tour event in the Bahamas. He interacted with fans, even playing “rock, paper, scissors” with one, and then made a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th, followed by a 45-foot birdie on the 18th.
Scheffler struggled with the wind, recording two bogeys. He avoided another with a 25-foot par putt on the final hole.
Kim leads at 22-under 194, with Scheffler and Brown close behind. The three will form the final group Sunday on the Stadium Course.
BrownS performance is especially noteworthy. A win would make him the youngest winner in nearly a century.
Charles Kocsis won the Michigan Open in 1931 at 18 years, 6 months, but that tournament was a regional event. Young Tom Morris won the British Open in 1868 at age 17.