LA QUINTA, Calif. — A chaotic week for 18-year-old Blades Brown was an inch away from a most spectacular highlight Friday when he narrowly missed a 6-foot birdie putt for 59, leaving him tied for the lead in The American Express with Scottie Scheffler. Brown, who turned pro last year and is weeks removed from graduating high school, needed only one birdie over the final three holes on the Nicklaus Tournament course at PGA West, the easiest of three courses in the rotation in ideal weather. He hit a gap wedge just right of the pin on his last hole, the par-4 ninth. He had the advantage of seeing David Ford go first on the same line. He picked his spot, rolled the putt and it stayed right,...
