Blades Brown, 18, missed a 6-foot putt on the final hole to shoot a stunning 59 at the American Express Open, but set a course record to share the lead with Scottie Scheffler after two rounds.
Brown needed birdies on the final three holes, but struggled for par on the par-5 seventh with a wayward second shot before having to settle for par again on the par-3 eighth.
That left him with one hole left for a birdie that would put him in the history books, but his attempt was pushed to the right and missed the hole. This left him with a short putt for a course record 60.
It was the lowest round in PGA Tour history by an 18-year-old since 1983 and tied him atop the leaderboard with Scheffler at 17 under par.
He shot a powerful 67 in the first round, and Brown’s moment came on Friday. But he will be concerned about the fact that he is on the verge of becoming the 16th player on the PGA Tour to shoot 59.
And did Brown feel the pressure on the final hole?
“Of course I did,” Brown said.
“I stuck to my game plan and executed the game plan I had control over. I couldn’t get it this time, but I was so happy.
“I was actually pretty calm. I was just looking at how beautiful this golf course was. I was just looking at the water out there.
“Sometimes when you need something to calm you down, I say, ‘I’m going to execute this shot that I can do and I’m going to putt this line that I see.’
“Unfortunately I didn’t get in, but I’m happy with the result I got today.
“Scotty is an unbelievable player and my name is next to his on the leaderboard.
“This weekend I’m going to focus on executing the shots I can and see what happens.
“I’m going to take a nap tomorrow and then tee it up.”
Starting from the 9th hole in the second half, he raised eyebrows with 6 birdies and 1 eagle, and Brown turned the corner by recording 8 under par with pars in the 17th and 18th holes.
His front nine wasn’t exactly thrilling, but he birdied the fourth, fifth and sixth holes of the second to enter the final three holes needing a birdie to make history.
It was even more dramatic Wednesday afternoon when the 18-year-old finished 17th in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, the second event of the season. He then flew more than 3,000 miles to California without a practice round to compete for American Express.
Meanwhile, Scheffler added 8 birdies without a bogey, hitting 63 in the first round and 64 in the second, and is currently tied for the lead at 17 under par with an astonishing 12 under par 60.
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