Blades Brown has played alongside talented amateur Preston Stout for the first three rounds of the John Deere Classic this week.
Brown turned pro at the age of 17, while Stout, 21, is still playing as an amateur and will soon enter his senior year at Oklahoma State.
Now 19, Brown has been playing competitively for 18 months on the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour, while Stout has obviously chosen a completely different path.
Blades Brown is more seasoned than Stout when it comes to playing in PGA Tour events, but the 21-year-old amateur clearly has an exceptional golf game.
The two young players have shone this week at the John Deere Classic, and it’s fair to say that they both still have a chance to win on Sunday.
Brown was in fine form ahead of the John Deere and he would have had the belief that he was capable of winning.
The same can be said for Stout and it will be fascinating to see how they both perform on Sunday in Silvis, Illinois.
What Blades Brown said about Preston Stout after playing with him at the John Deere
Brown spoke to the media after firing a third-round 67 at TPC Deere Run.
The teenager responded when asked to share his thoughts on Stout, having played with him for three consecutive rounds.
“Yeah, I think Preston is, what, 20, 21 maybe. I think he’s the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world now, and he is unbelievable,“ Brown said.
“I mean, he hits it so far off the tee, putts the lights out of it. His short game is awesome as well. I was walking down 18 with Brett, and I was, like, man, this guy is the real deal.
“It was really fun to play with Preston three days in a row, so that was pretty cool. Missed the putt on 18 to, unfortunately, not get paired with him tomorrow.
“Yeah, I’m really excited to play with him in the future.“
Stout clearly has an unbelievable game, and the fact that he’s playing college golf for one more season proves that he has total faith in his own ability.
It would be so easy for him to have turned pro already, considering the amount of invites he would receive to play on the PGA Tour.
Preston Stout says whether he will play more aggressively to try and win
Stout is sitting in a tie for 8th heading into the final round, four shots adrift of the leaders.
He responded when asked if he plans to take more of an aggressive approach on Sunday in order to try and win the John Deere.
“I don’t know, I think I’ve been playing pretty aggressive all week. I think it’s worked. The greens are just super soft. There’s not really any pins you can’t get,“ Stout said.
“So I think, yeah, just staying aggressive, keeping the ball in the fairway. You know, we hit a couple of different clubs off tees today. I think that kind of fit the fairway better, so that was good. Then just firing at pins.
“I don’t think I need to change my mindset. I think I’m in a good spot of how I’m thinking and just go play golf again tomorrow.“
