Blades Brown rises to the top alongside Scottie Scheffler at his 10th PGA Tour start. Schmid and Jäger stay on track for the cut while Straka falls behind.
Brown and Scheffler Take the Lead on the PGA Tour
The second round of the PGA Tour event The American Express in La Quinta, California, was filled with birdies. The 18-year-old Blades Brown shot a flawless bogey-free 12-under round, climbing an astonishing 50 places to share the lead at 17-under with Scottie Scheffler heading into the weekend.
World number one Scheffler posted a solid bogey-free 8-under round, while Brown dazzled with 10 birdies and an eagle. Remarkably, Brown’s first seven holes included six birdies and one eagle. 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
Brown expressed his fondness for the course, saying, ‘I really like this course,’ and added, ‘I love playing without wind.’ After the round, he was thrilled with his performance and highlighted the joy of playing his sixth consecutive round since his Korn Ferry Tour start earlier in the week. With his score of 60, Brown set a new tournament round record, narrowly missing becoming the 15th player in PGA Tour history to shoot a sub-60 round.
His rival at the top, Scheffler, has already achieved that feat. Scheffler began just as brilliantly with birdies on five of the first six holes. Following a bogey-free 9-under first round, the world number one added a bogey-free 8-under on day two, cementing his status as favorite.
‘Can he make a long one?’