Blades Brown surges to the top alongside Scottie Scheffler at his 10th PGA Tour start while Schmid and Jäger aim for the cut as Straka falls back.
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 defined by birdies. The 18-year-old Blades Brown posted a perfect, bogey-free 12-under round. He climbed an astonishing 50 places and took the lead at 17-under alongside Scottie Scheffler going into the weekend.
World number one Scheffler shot a solid bogey-free 8-under, having an almost perfect day. Brown went even further with 10 birdies and an eagle, impressively moving up the leaderboard. Notably, he recorded six birdies and an eagle in his first seven holes. This is only Brown’s tenth start on the PGA Tour after 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 the round, he expressed great happiness with his performance, emphasizing how great it is to play his sixth round in a row following his Korn Ferry Tour start earlier this week.
Brown’s 60 set a new tournament round record and narrowly missed becoming only the 15th player ever to shoot a round under 60 on the PGA Tour.
His main competitor at the top has done so before. Scheffler started just as strong as Brown, with birdies on five of his first six holes. After a bogey-free 9-under first day, the world number one added a bogey-free 8-under second day, confirming his status as the favorite.
<