Blades Brown was 1 under through eight holes in his second round at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. Then he turned on the jets.
After making back-to-back eagles at Nos. 9 and 10, Brown had three straight pars but then closed with five straight birdies. Add it up and after being 1 under through 8, he went 9 under over his last 10 holes to shoot 10-under 61 and take the outright lead in the circuit's season finale.
Brown walked off the course with the clubhouse lead at 13 under, one ahead of Austin Hitt, who also went low Friday with a 62.
The top 20 finishers in the season-long points race earn 2027 PGA Tour cards and 13 golfers had already reached that mark. Brown started the KFT Championship as the highest in the points without having yet secured a card.
Through 36 holes, he's vaulted to fourth. Nothing is final yet, but should he avoid disaster, Brown, at 19 years, 4 months and 22 days old, would become the youngest golfer to earn PGA Tour status via the KFT. Jason Day holds the mark at 19 years, 11 months and 23 days.
Brown made the surprising decision to turn pro at age 17 at the end of 2024.
“I know my route to the PGA Tour is a very uncommon route,” Brown said. “It's mainly because of my parents. They've been my biggest supporters. They've sacrificed so much, especially my dad. He's been – I think he's missed about two events in my entire life, and he believed in me whenever I didn't believe in myself.”
At the CJ Cup Byron Nelson earlier this year, a tie for 14th clinched Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour. He proceeded to spend the rest of his 2026 chasing points on the KFT and it's about to pay off.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Blades Brown posts back-to-back eagles, shoots 61, on the brink of PGA Tour card