Blades Brown became the youngest PGA Tour winner since World War II, sharing an emotional first victory with his father, who has battled cancer

Blades Brown earned his first PGA Tour title with his dad watching from just feet away, and the two got to celebrate together after Brown opened up on his fathers battle with cancer.

On Sunday in Los Cabos, Mexico, Brown mounted a comeback to defeat Ben James in a playoff at the World Wide Technology Championship, making him the youngest PGA Tour champion since World War II. His father, Parke, was standing just beyond the ropes and fell to his knees when 19-year-old Brown sank the final putt on the second playoff hole to take home his first win and $1,080,000.

Parke was initially diagnosed with bone cancer in 2022 and given months to live. But doctors later discovered that he actually had hairy cell leukemia.

“I would say unfortunately with leukemia, it never really goes away,” Blaes said in late October.

Although that specific type of leukemia cannot be cured, it remains highly treatable. Throughout his treatment, Parke endured 20 chemotherapy rounds, incredibly only missing just two of Blades’ golf tournaments along the way.

Roughly 12 weeks after completing his chemo, Blades went on to win medalist honors at the 2023 U.S. Amateur.

“He’ll eventually go back for treatment, hopefully not for a long time, probably another decade or so. Which I'll be 29 or 30 before the next time he has to do one of those,” added Blades.

“But I mean it's just so special. I think the coolest thing is there aren't very many other people that want you to be better than yourself. And my parents have sacrificed so much for me. My dad, I mean, there's no other individual in the world that has that role. And so he pours so much into my life, he helps me out so much when it comes to golf.

“He's having to take a step back when it comes to some of the hats that he's played for or had on for so many years, just because I have an awesome team around me now. But he's learning about it and I'm having a blast with him on the road.”

Entering the final round seven strokes off the lead, Brown carded a nine-under 63 to surge up the leaderboard. James, a 23-year-old rookie who recently turned professional following a standout collegiate career at Virginia, managed to force a late playoff.

Brown secured the victory with a birdie on the second playoff hole, marking the moment with a calm and composed fist pump.