“That’s obviously where you want to be,” said Brown of the PGA Tour’s primary developmental circuit.
“Well, you want to be at a higher level than that, but it’s better than where I’m at now.” Trying to make it out of this talent-rich pool of aspiring pros has all come fairly naturally for the former Pacers star. “For me it’s not been tough at all,” Brown said of the transition from talented amateur to rising professional. “I’ve been lucky enough to win three times and be good on the financial side of it. I haven’t had that one year where I’ve struggled financially. So it’s been easy. I think college prepared me for that. You’ve got to shoot better scores now, but it teaches you that consistency and never-get-in-trouble type of mentality.” Brown earned an exemption into one of the premier events on the Nationwide Tour by winning the Bushnell Championship in April, and he wanted to make his first chance at that level count. “I hope to win and you guys won’t see me again,” he said to his mini-tour mates only half jokingly after getting his spot in the field. Brown acquitted himself pretty well, shooting 11-under par to finish tied for 44th in the 168-player field. He flirted with a top-25 finish that would have qualified him to play in the next Nationwide Tour event. “I feel like I can play with those guys,” Brown said of the higher caliber competition. “I played pretty well this week but made no putts whatsoever. If I’d putted somewhat decent I probably could have been in contention myself. I was just misreading putts there, hitting my lines but they just weren’t going in.”
The BMW Charity Pro-Am is the tour’s version of Pebble Beach or the Bob Hope, with amateur partners and celebrities joining them for three rounds amid unusually large galleries.