Blades Brown, 19, wins World Wide Technology Championship in play-off, youngest PGA Tour winner in 95 years

Seven shots back on the final day

Blades Brown began the last round seven shots behind the leader at the World Wide Technology Championship in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. He had opened with rounds of 66, 68 and 68 before a closing 63 on Sunday, 8 November, which included 10 birdies and one bogey and was the lowest score of the day. He reached 23 under par through 72 holes after finishing the par-5 18th, which the BBC reports as an eagle and the New York Times as a birdie. He then had to wait for Ben James, the 23-year-old American who was also on 23 under, to complete his round.

Round 166

Round 268

Round 368

Round 463

Round 1

66 strokes

Round 2

68 strokes

Round 3

68 strokes

Round 4

63 strokes

Data from the article text

Play-off decided on the second extra hole

James forced a sudden-death play-off with an eagle on the 18th, according to RTE. Both players birdied the first play-off hole. On the second, James missed an 8-foot putt, while Brown holed a 3-footer for the win. It was Brown's first win on the PGA Tour. Michael Kim finished third on 22 under, and Kensei Hirata was a shot further back.

A record for a young winner

Brown is the youngest PGA Tour winner in 95 years, at 19 years and 171 days, according to the BBC and SRF. He is younger than Charles Kocsis, who was 18 when he won the 1931 Michigan Open, an event the BBC describes as regional in the early years of the tour. The BBC also notes that Brown is the first teenage PGA winner since Jordan Spieth won the John Deere Classic in 2013. RTE calls him the fourth youngest winner in the tour's history. Brown turned professional at 17 and earned his PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 20 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list in 2026. Brown said the scale of the win had not yet sunk in.

“It hasn't set in just yet, the magnitude of being a PGA Tour winner.”

Exemptions, the field and Power's finish

Because of the win, Brown will be on the PGA Tour for the next two years, according to the New York Times. He also receives a spot in the Championship Series when it begins in 2028, plus an exemption into The Players Championship. The WWT Championship is a fall event that features players who graduated from the Korn Ferry Tour alongside PGA Tour players seeking position for 2027. Earlier in the season, Brown had a second-round 60 at The American Express and finished third at the Puerto Rico Open in March. Michael Kim, a long-time PGA Tour player ranked in the top 75 in the world, played alongside Brown on Sunday and praised his ball-striking.

“I was very, very impressed with him.”

Séamus Power, the Waterford man, finished tied for eighth on 18 under after a closing 66, five shots behind Brown. He had shot 65 in the third round and recorded birdies on the ninth and 10th holes on Sunday.