Blades Brown surges to joint lead with Scottie Scheffler at his 10th PGA Tour start. Schmid and Jäger aim for the cut while Straka falls behind.
Brown and Scheffler Take the Lead on the PGA Tour
The second round of the PGA Tour’s The American Express in La Quinta, California, was all about birdies. The 18-year-old Blades Brown shot a perfect bogey-free 12-under round. He surged 50 places to share the lead at 17-under with Scottie Scheffler going into the weekend.
World number one Scheffler posted a solid 8-under without bogey to secure an almost flawless day, but Brown went even further. With 10 birdies and an eagle, the teenager made a spectacular move up the leaderboard. His front nine was particularly remarkable, carding six birdies and an eagle in his first seven holes. This is only Brown’s tenth PGA Tour start following his Korn Ferry Tour debut earlier this week.
12-under thru 15 for Blades Brown! 🤯
@TheAmexGolf | #59Watch pic.twitter.com/AvGkCUS9yE— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 23, 2026
\”I really like this course,\” Brown said, adding, \”I love playing without wind.\” After his round, he expressed great happiness with his performance and emphasized that playing his sixth consecutive round since starting on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this week was something special. With his round of 60, Brown set a new tournament round record and just missed becoming the 15th player ever to shoot under 60 on the PGA Tour.
His rival at the top has already achieved this feat. Scheffler started just as fiercely as Brown with birdies on five of the first six holes. After a bogey-free 9-under on day one, the world number one added a bogey-free 8-under on day two, confirming his status as favorite.
‘Can he make a long one?’
Solo leader Scottie Scheffler is rolling with 7 BIRDIES on the day @TheAmExGolf 🔥