Hamilton Coleman dared to peek at the Junior Players Championship leaderboard on his phone after he birdied the par-4 10th hole at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass to get to 6-under in Sunday’s final round.
It was then that the Augusta, Ga., resident saw he had a two-shot lead in the American Junior Golf Association’s annual Labor Day weekend event.
But Coleman also noticed who had worked his way into second place: Blades Brown of Nashville, fifth on the AJGA Rolex Rankings, first on the Junior Golf Scoreboard, the medalist in the U.S. Junior Amateur stroke play and one of the youngest players to ever make the cut in a PGA Tour event when he tied for 26th at the Myrtle Beach Classic in May.
“When he’s coming, you know it,” said Coleman, the 91st-ranked AJGA player entering the tournament — 86 spots behind Brown.
Indeed he was. Brown eventually tied Coleman with a splendid birdie at the Island Green but Coleman had the last word and won with a par on the second playoff hole — after Brown doused his tee shot at the par-4 18th hole — to capture his second AJGA event in only the second sudden-death ending in the 18-year history of the tournament.
Coleman (70) and Brown (66, the tournament’s low round) finished at 6-under 210. Kartik Singh of Indian (68) and Logan Reilly of Lovettsville, Va., (71) tied for third and 36-hole leader Mason Howell of Thomasville, Ga., (74) was alone in fifth.
Phillip Dunham of Ponte Vedra Beach (69) was among four players tied at 2-under and posted his second top-10 finish in a row. He was the runner-up to Miles Russell last year.
Russell (69) made six birdies and tied for 16th.
Blades Brown has a history of getting hot
Coleman knew he had his own work to do but couldn’t help but feel the heat from Brown, who was playing two groups behind him, and was draining birdies all over the Stadium Course.
Brown has a habit of going on hot streaks. He shot a 62 in a U.S. Amateur qualifier last year. He broke the Colorado Country Club course record with a 64 later in the summer to earn co-medalist in U.S. Amateur stroke play. Earlier this summer, Brown became only the third player to be the medalist in the U.S. Amateur and U.S Junior Amateur.
The other two are Bobby Jones and Tiger Woods.
Now take Brown’s foray onto the PGA Tour in May. Brown birdied four of seven holes at Myrtle Beach to make the cut. The next day, he went bogey-free and birdied three of four at one point.
This, from a 16-year-old, in a PGA Tour event. And at the home of The Players, Brown birdied four of five on the front nine and eventually clawed from five shots back at the start of the day.
“The putter got hot on the front nine,” Brown said in explanation of birdied at Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 6.
It then became a pitched battle between two close friends who have played a lot of golf with and against each other.
“One of my best friends,” Brown said of Coleman.
Birdie at No. 17 set the stage for playoff
Coleman had a three-shot lead after a two-putt birdie off the fringe at the par-4 12th hole. Brown cut into that with an 8-footer for birdie at No. 13. Both had stumbles, Coleman with a bogey at the 14th and Brown with one at No. 15.
Brown finally caught Coleman with a two-putt birdie at No. 16 and a nervy tee shot into the 17th hole’s Island Green with a 50-degree wedge, against a stiff crosswind going right-to-left, to set up a 3-foot birdie putt.
“That was pretty sweet,” Brown admitted of the tee shot at No. 17. “I backed off a few times to make sure I had the right wind and I thought I pushed it a little bit. But it went right at the pin.”
Needing a birdie to win after Brown safely parred the last, Coleman three-putted 16 for par, came up short of the green at No. 17 and had to scramble for par and then had to get up-and-down from a pot bunker at No. 18 to hold his spot in the playoff.
Brown says he ‘got greedy’ at No. 18
Both players parred No. 18 in the first hole of sudden death, with Brown sinking a testy 8-footer. But after returning to the 18th tee again, Coleman had the last word, thanks to Brown overcooking a rope hook. The ball skidded into the water, Brown eventually made bogey and Coleman, who hit the fairway and the green, two-putted from 18 feet for par to win.
“I got too greedy,” Brown said of his fateful tee shot. “I tried to cut the corner too close.”
The two exchanged a heartfelt hug after it was over.
“It’s always fun playing with Blades,” Coleman said. “It was tough to see him lose it.”
“Two good friends battling for the Junior Players title,” Brown said. “I didn’t come away with the win but Ham did and if someone else had to win it, I would have wanted it to be home.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Junior Players goes overtime as Hamilton Coleman tops Blades Brown
