A lot can change within a few days. Blades Brown can testify to this. He quit college to play in 2025 as a professional. The Brentwood Academy graduate was flying high at the American Express Open. He made stunning 9 birdies in the second round, to put himself in firm contention in his first-ever PGA Tour tournament as a professional. A disappointing third round which included a double bogey in the 17 hole, pushed him out of contention but the youngster surely did make an impression.

Speaking about his experience at only his second PGA Tour event, Brown was pretty candid. “Golf is such a funny game…I think mentally I was just a little drained, so I definitely can work on that.” He also indicated that he liked to keep thinking about what challenges come next rather than focus on what happened in the past. “You’re gonna have good breaks from bad shots and bad breaks from good shots, but I’m gonna keep my head up… It’s gonna sting a little bit, but looking forward to what’s next.” Brown noted.

In his mind, he was already preparing for his next challenge. “I’m playing in the Monday Q for the Farmers Insurance, so that would be awesome to be able to tee up next week, yeah,” Brown shared excitedly. But the Monday Qualifiers for the Farmers Insurance Open proved to be another difficult enterprise for him.

Blades Brown missed out on qualifying for the $9.3 million event with the thinnest of margins. The 17-year-old finished T4 with a score of 3 below par, tied alongside Chris Korte and Pono Yanagi. With Charles Reiter (-5), Jim Knous (-4), and Ryan Hall (-4) qualifying ahead of them, Brown’s fate was to be decided by a playoff. Chris Korte won the 3-for-1 playoff over Brown and Yanagi, allowing him to clinch the last and final qualifying position.

Blades Brown not taking part in the Open thins an already thin herd at the Farmers Insurance Open. Several significant golfers, who would have made the competition way more exciting, will not feature in the field.

Big misses highlight the Farmers Insurance Open

The top 2 ranked golfers will not feature in the Torrey Pines Golf Course for the Open due to injury. Scottie Scheffler is dealing with a hand injury due to a freak accident during Christmas dinner (shockingly, he was preparing ravioli) while Xander Schauffele has been dealing with a rib injury since late last year. Collin Morikawa is another big name missing out because of an undisclosed illness.

Akshay Bhatia and 2024 Farmers Insurance Open runner-up Nicolai Hojgaard will also not be making an appearance in San Diego. Though both of them have not cited any reason, it is not difficult to infer the same. Their participation at the Dubai Desert Classic in the Middle East means that they will not get enough time to rest before the Farmers Insurance Open which tees off on Wednesday, instead of the usual Thursday. This is to avoid scheduling conflicts with the NFL Conference Championship games.

Blades Brown could still feature in the tournament if he manages to gain a sponsor exemption to compete. With his current fan following and repertoire, it is not outside the realm of possibility. Do you think he should be allowed to play at the Open or do you think someone else should be given the chance?