What Blades Brown achieved on the Friday of the 2026 American Express was truly remarkable. Playing only his 10th PGA Tour event, the 18-year-old shot an outstanding 12-under 60. And that got fans excited to watch him in action in the next round of the event. With that, he may have helped the Golf Channel break a unique record.

As Josh Carpenter of the Sports Business Journal tweeted, “Some viewership data from @theamexgolf : Saturday averaged 883k viewers on Golf Channel (Big Data + Panel), a 284% increase from Saturday last year (230k, also Big Data). Would mark the highest Saturday for the event since 2006 when it was on ABC. The tour did not have NFL competition on Saturday this year (divisional round last year). Have to think Blades Brown’s 60 contributed to this a bit at least.”

Facing off against Scottie Scheffler, Brown’s 12-under par was enough to push him to the top of the leaderboard.

On Saturday, he scored a 4-under par to finish tied second after 54 holes with the world #1. But the young golfer, playing his rookie season on the Tour, had already done enough to get everyone pumped up, getting the event compared to the Tiger Woods era. ()

But it wasn’t like the event wasn’t showing positive viewership numbers already.

Carpenter also shared the results from the first couple of rounds: “Thursday: 233k (+29%), Friday: 305k (+35%),” as compared to their ratings from last season. However, they weren’t nearly as impressive as the 284% jump the Golf Channel saw on Saturday.

Interestingly, the numbers are gathered only from the Golf Channel. The tournament was also covered on ESPN+ and the NBC Sports App. Viewer data and ratings from those sources haven’t been revealed yet.

That said, the NFL also played a key role in helping the PGA Tour.

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Did the stars align for the PGA Tour with Blades Brown’s presence and the NFL’s absence?

Blades Brown’s performance was certainly the highlight of the week for the PGA Tour.

Scottie Scheffler may have won the American Express 2026. But it was the 18-year-old who stole the show. However, Carpenter also credited the NFL for its contribution to golf’s success.

There are very few matches left in the NFL schedule.

During the American Express 2026 week, they were playing the Conference Championships. Both Conference matches were held on Monday, January 26, 2026. As a result, after many weeks, golf’s schedule didn’t collide with that of football.

With all the action at La Quinta on Friday, and fans having no football to watch, the increase in viewership on Saturday can be anticipated.

As Carpenter stated, “Sunday numbers expected tomorrow,” it won’t come as a surprise if the TV ratings for the final round are also high, if not 284%.