Blades Brown just experienced a Sunday that is almost unfathomable for most 18-year-olds, getting the chance to go toe-to-toe with the World No.1 in a PGA Tour final group.
The young prospect found himself in the final trio at The American Express alongside Scottie Scheffler and Si Woo Kim before dropping down to T18th after a closing 74.
Still, the teenager ended the week at 19-under-par for 72 holes to take home $118,000 along with some remarkable learnings after seeing Scheffler up close, who won his 20th PGA Tour title in an assured final day.
"Yeah, I have so much to take away from this week," Brown said after his round, where he revealed which part of Scheffler's game really stood out.
"Getting to play with Scottie Scheffler in the final group at 18 years old is - I had to pinch myself couple of times just to make sure I was, you know, this was real. Not the Sunday that I would have liked, but I overall had so much fun playing the American Express this week.
"I was feeling really good throughout the entire round. I would say one of the coolest things that I learned today was how underrated Scottie Scheffler's short game is.
"To see it in person and just to look at kind of the trajectory and the spin, and just the control that he has with his wedges and short game. Obviously his putting is insane too. It was really cool to watch. So I'm definitely going to go work on that."
The boy from Nashville had just completed his eighth consecutive day of playing competitive golf after competing in the Korn Ferry Tour's Bahamas Great Abaco Classic from Sunday to Wednesday before flying to California for the AmEx.
"Eight rounds I know sounds like a lot, but I was having a lot of fun. You're telling me I get to play in a PGA Tour event and to play with Scottie Scheffler and see him win it, that was insane," he said.
"I got some things I got to sharpen up, and hopefully we see if we can do what Scottie's doing."
Brown then joked he could write a book on what he has learned from his weekend in contention.
"I mean, shoot, I could probably write a book about what I've learned these past couple of days," he said with a laugh following rounds of 67, 60, 68 and 74.
"Just knowing that I can compete out here. It was so cool watching Scottie win in person and getting to play with him.
"He's such an unbelievable guy. He talked to me numerous times throughout the round and was giving me a lot of encouragement, so it was awesome."
Brown will play primarily on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, where he will be hoping to finish inside the top-20 at the end of the season to earn full PGA Tour status for 2027.
