Winner
Blades Brown won the World Wide Technology Championship in a playoff against Ben James, finishing on 23 under par. It was his first PGA Tour win.
Blades Brown began in the top 10 after round 1, and he was still in the top 10 after round 2 and again was still in the top 10 after round 3. He went into the final round seven shots behind the leader, Ben James, and ended the week with a closing 63.
Putting did most of the work and added 9.0 strokes. Off the tee added 4.1 strokes. Approach was his weaker area, though it still added to his week, and he lost 0.1 strokes around the green.
Profile vs Reality
Profile vs Reality puts Course Fit to the test. Course Fit ranks each week's field by how closely each player's game over the last 12 months matches what the course rewards beyond the tour norm. Below are its key metrics for Diamante Cabo San Lucas (El Cardonal), with where Blades Brown ranked on each this week: the higher his ranks, the more the week bore out Course Fit's profile of the course.
See this week's Course Fit table for the PGA Tour
| Key metric | Priority | Winner's rank | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Putting | CRITICAL | 2 | perfect match |
| Driving accuracy | HIGH | 18 | match |
| Approach | HIGH | 44 | anomaly |
| Around the green | HIGH | 46 | anomaly |
| Putts per GIR | MEDIUM | 2 | perfect match |
Key metrics: what Course Fit says this venue rewards beyond the tour norm, largest weight first. Priority: the weight against every venue's (CRITICAL for the top tenth). Verdict: perfect match (top 5), match (top quarter), neutral (top half), anomaly (bottom half).
| Round 1 | 2026 | Previous 10 stagings |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring average, morning v afternoon | 69.05 v 70.10 | 69.78 v 70.35 on average |
| Better wave | Morning, by 1.05 | Morning 8, afternoon 2 |
| First-round leader from | Morning | Morning 5, afternoon 3, both 2 |
The week followed what the venue rewards in the areas that matter most. Blades Brown ranked 2nd for putting, the CRITICAL metric, a perfect match. His driving accuracy was a match on a HIGH metric. The anomalies were approach and around the green, both HIGH metrics, where he ranked well down the field. Putting alone did not decide the week: Max Greyserman, the field's best putter, finished joint 42nd. In round 1 the morning wave did better, by 1.05 shots per player. That was in line with most previous stagings, as the morning wave was better in eight of the previous 10. The first-round leader came from the morning wave.
Lessons for next year
This staging adds to the evidence that putting is the skill to weight most, with driving accuracy supporting it. Approach and around the green did not matter for the winner, so they look less reliable here than their HIGH priority suggests. The morning wave again scored better, which suggests a lean towards morning starters in first-round markets.
Progress / Regress targets
A Progress target ranked much higher this week from tee to green or on approach than he finished, but much lower for putting, although over the last 12 months he has been one of the better putters in this field. His finish undersold his long game, and he may do better once his putting returns to its usual level.
A Regress target is the reverse: a weaker putter whose putting this week lifted him well above what his long game earned, so his finish may have flattered him.
Each figure is a rank in this week's field, except the last column: his putting rank over the previous 12 months.
| Target | Player | Finish | SG: T2G | SG: Approach | SG: Putting | Putting, last 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regress | Max Greyserman | 42 | 71 | 61 | 1 | 40 |
| Regress | Brice Garnett | 42 | 69 | 67 | 6 | 49 |
| Regress | Nick Dunlap | 42 | 64 | 40 | 12 | 66 |
| Regress | Luke Clanton | 33 | 58 | 12 | 13 | 83 |
| Regress | Nick Taylor | 33 | 56 | 57 | 14 | 31 |
Progress: SG: Tee to Green or SG: Approach rank at least 19 places better than his finish, SG: Putting at least 19 places worse, and in the field's top quarter for putting over the previous 12 months. Regress: the reverse, and outside that top quarter. Putting, last 12 months: his rank among the 116 in the field for strokes gained putting over the year before the event, as the CC: SG table ranks it.