Blades Brown And John Daly II Among Young Stars In Contention At Puerto Rico Open As Notables Miss Weekend

Along with the Signature Event of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, there's also the Puerto Rico Open taking place on the PGA Tour, with an intriguing field present at Grand Reserve Golf Club.

Made up of a mix of youth and experience, with the former making the most of the $4 million event, Blades Brown and John Daly II are both in contention going into the weekend.

At the halfway stage, Chandler Blanchet finds himself four clear as rounds of 64 and 67 put the American 13-under.

Big-hitting Gordon Sargent is nine-under following rounds of 65 and 70, while it's a share of third that is drawing attention, with 18-year-old Brown once again in contention after an excellent start to the year.

Wrapping up three top 25s in 2026 on both the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour, Brown was in with a shot of winning at The American Express in January, but a final round 74 dropped the young American down the leaderboard.

This week, though, at the Puerto Rico Open, he is eight-under and in a good position once again, with Brown sitting alongside Ricky Castillo, Jesper Svensson and Jeremy Paul.

One shot back of Brown is another familiar name, with Daly II firing a 70 and bogey-free 67 to be seven-under, with the son of two-time Major winner, John Daly, making the most of his PGA Tour debut.

Currently, Daly II is in a share of seventh with Jimmy Stanger, Matti Schmid, Beau Hossler and John Parry, with the 22-year-old not deterred as he tackles Grand Reserve Golf Club.

"It's awesome. This place has always been one of my favorites, like I said earlier, to come watch my dad play back in the day, so it's pretty cool to make it to the weekend," stated the young American following his second round on Friday.

"I think after I birdied 14 I kind of settled down, said okay, like made a few good saves and just made some birdies after that. Honestly, (tomorrow) go out there and try to go as low as I can. I got nothing to lose, so just go out there and have fun and just keep doing what I'm doing."

Luke Clanton, who is yet to make a cut this year, fired rounds of 69 and 70 to make it comfortably into the weekend, with the 22-year-old joined by former LIV Golfer Eugenio Chacarra and 17-year-old Miles Russell.

Back in 2024, and at the age of 15, Russell became the youngest player to make a cut in Korn Ferry Tour history at the LECOM Suncoast Classic. Thanks to a closing birdie at the 18th on Friday, Russell made it into the weekend at Puerto Rico on the two-under cutline.

Although notable names made the cut, others weren't so fortunate, with PGA Tour winners Cameron Champ, Nick Dunlap and Matt Wallace heading home early.

Yanhan Zhou, who already has 10 professional victories at the age of 17, also failed to make the cut, while Puerto Rico's own Evan Pena, who is also 17-years-old, could only finish 10-over to miss the weekend.