Blades Brown became the youngest winner on the PGA Tour since the Second World War on Sunday, beating Ben James in a sudden-death playoff to win the World Wide Technology Championship in Los Cabos, Mexico. At 19 years, five months and 18 days old, Brown is the fourth-youngest winner in tour history, and the youngest since 1931.

Brown began the final round seven strokes behind James at El Cardonal at Diamante, the course designed by Tiger Woods. He then produced a stunning nine-under-par 63, making 10 birdies, to reach 23 under par for the tournament and set a clubhouse target of 265.

James, the 23-year-old rookie who started the day with a four-shot lead, struggled on the greens all weekend but refused to give the title away. After three bogeys on the front nine, he holed a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-five 18th to match Brown at 23 under and force a playoff.

The extra holes were played on the 18th. Both players had eagle chances on the first playoff hole but neither converted, so they returned to the tee. This time James missed a six-foot birdie putt, and Brown calmly holed his own birdie to seal his first PGA Tour title in only his 22nd start on the tour. The victory was worth 1.08 million dollars from a six-million-dollar purse.

Michael Kim finished third, one stroke outside the playoff, after weekend rounds of 63 and 64. Denny McCarthy had shared the lead late in the round but bogeyed the 15th and double-bogeyed the 17th to finish tied sixth.

Brown turned professional at 17 in December 2024, choosing to skip college, and only secured his PGA Tour card for 2027 through the Korn Ferry Tour a few weeks ago. He became the youngest player ever to earn tour membership that way on 11 October. As an amateur he was the youngest stroke-play medallist in US Amateur history at 16, breaking a mark held by Bobby Jones, and he is only the third player, alongside Tiger Woods and Bobby Clampett, to earn medallist honours at both the US Amateur and the US Junior Amateur.

He is also the first teenager to win on the PGA Tour since Jordan Spieth won the 2013 John Deere Classic. Only Charles Kocsis, Harry Cooper and Ralph Guldahl, all in 1931 or earlier, won tour events at a younger age than Brown.

Speaking after the win, Brown said he was simply obsessed with the game. His mother, Rhonda, made the first three-pointer in WNBA history, and Brown himself was a talented school basketball guard before choosing golf. James, meanwhile, will take encouragement from a fifth top-five finish since turning professional this summer as he continues to chase a first tour title.