Blades Brown has one sole passion: golf. To do that, he has taken up a rather bold decision. He has made a daring choice to skip college and turn professional. The young golfer made his professional debut at the PGA Tour’s American Express, following an extraordinary amateur career highlighted by becoming the youngest medalist in U.S. Amateur history in 2023. By doing so, Brown broke a 103-year-old record earlier held by Bobby Jones and joined an elite group of players, including Tiger Woods and Bobby Clampett, who have won both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior titles.

His decision to turn pro at such a young age is not entirely without precedent. Akshay Bhatia made a similar leap at 17 in 2019. For a 17-year-old, it is not possible to make such a stern decision if his parents are not supportive. Brown’s parents are, in fact, the strongest pillars of strength for him. Blades Brown is the proud son of Parke Brown and Rhonda Brown, and, well, his family too is a rather athletic one.

His mother played professional basketball and is an award-winning coach at Brentwood Academy for the Tennessee Women’s Basketball team. She had an exceptional career in American college basketball and played for Vanderbilt University. She was there for four seasons, appearing in 132 games and scoring a total of 1017 points, having 408 rebounds, and 505 assists.

After her college career, she was drafted by the New York Liberty for the first season in 1997 at the WNBA. She made history by scoring the first 3-shot in the circuit. Following her rookie season, Rhonda Blades joined the Detroit Shock for her second and final season in the WNBA. Afterward, she continued her basketball career overseas, playing in Israel and Turkey with notable success, though she never returned to compete at the highest level in the United States.

In 2001, Rhonda decided to retire from professional basketball and transitioned into coaching. She took on the head coach role for the Brentwood Academy women’s basketball team in Tennessee. Under her leadership, the team has achieved remarkable success, winning five state championships and securing four runner-up finishes.

While his mother was an exceptional player, his father might not have been very active in basketball but had the shared love of golf like his son and is also his biggest cheerleader.

Blades Brown’s biggest source of inspiration was his father’s journey

Parke has never missed out on any of his son’s tournaments. “He’s the water guy. He has the snacks. He calls himself the commissary,” Blades Brown said about his father to Main Street Press. “We’ll finish a hole, and he’ll set up shop with his backpack with Quest bars, protein bars, and water and set it out on the next tee. Half the time I’m like, ‘No, I’m good, I’m good.’”

It was because of his father that Blades Brown took up golf. Otherwise, initially, he was following in the footsteps of his mother. However, things have not always been sparkly for the senior Brown. All hell broke loose when in 2022, Parke Brown was diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia, and the doctor said that he only had a year to live. But he did not give up on him.

Battling through days of chemotherapy was difficult but he never stopped supporting his son even through then. It’s 2025, almost a year and a half, and, well, Parke Brown is not just alive, but he is also healthy. It was watching his father strongly fight through the battle that gave Blades Brown the strength to play even better and come out triumphant. He indeed is not just a guiding source, but his idol.

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