The 16-year-old from Jacksonville Beach made golf history this year.
Miles Russell, the 16-year-old from Jacksonville Beach who has made golf history this year, has likely played his final professional event of the 2024 season.
Russell shot 74 on Friday in the second round of the PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship, at the Port Royal Golf Course in Southhampton, Bermuda, and at 5-over-par 147 missed the projected cut by seven shots.
Russell returned on Friday morning to play his last four holes from the suspended first round. Shortly after finishing a 73, he had to start his second round and after an opening birdie, his chances of playing on the weekend were dealt a blow when he bogeyed Nos. 10 and 12.
He went on to bogey Nos. 16 and 17, turned and birdied the first hole. But he doubled the par-5 second.
Russell birdied Nos. 5, 7 and 9.
He hit seven fairways and 13 greens. Russell’s undoing in the two rounds were the short game, getting up and down for par only three times after missing 13 greens.
Can Miles Russell play any more pro events in 2024?
Only one more PGA Tour event remains, the RSM Classic next week at the Sea Island Club — only 75 miles from Jacksonville. Russell did not get a sponsor invitation to the tournament and as of Nov. 15, was not entered in a qualifier on Monday at the Brunswick Country Club where the top four players will get spots in the tournament.
The Korn Ferry Tour, where Russell played twice this season, has ended.
What was Miles Russell’s record in 2024 pro events?
Miles Russell of the United States reacts on the 18th green during the final round of the LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood National Golf Club Commander on April 21, 2024, in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. The 15-year-old golfer made history by becoming the youngest player to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Puerto Rico Open, PGA Tour: Russell shot 67 in a Monday qualifier and lost in a four-for-one playoff for the tournament’s main draw.
LECOM Suncoast Championship, Korn Ferry Tour: Russell, who played with a sponsor invitation, became the youngest at 15 years old to make the cut in a Korn Ferry Tour even when he opened with rounds of 68-66. He then became the youngest to record a top-20 finish when he closed 70-66 and tied for 20th at 14-under 270.
Vertitex Bank Championship, Korn Ferry Tour: Russell qualified by being among the top 25 in the previous week’s event. He posted two under-par rounds (68-70) but at 4-under missed the 7-under cut.
Rocket Mortgage Classic, PGA Tour: Russell received a sponsor invitation and shot 74-70–144. At even par, he missed the cut by four shots.
Butterfield Bermuda Championship, PGA Tour: Russell was granted a sponsor invitational reserved for the American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year. He shot 73-74-147 and will officially miss the projected 2-under cut when the second round resumes on Saturday.
Russell shot under par seven times in 11 rounds in pro events this season and was in the 60s five times.
His scoring average in those tournaments was 69.64. He was a cumulative 18-under par.
Russell’s run in the U.S. Junior Amateur ended on Friday.
Miles Russell’s run in the U.S. Junior Amateur ended on Friday with another match that went the distance.
Russell, the 15-year-old Jacksonville Beach native and the No. 1 player on the American Junior Golf Association Rankings, fell to Jay Leng of San Diego 1 up after rallying from three holes down with seven to play at the Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Russell won the 12th and 15th holes with pars but Leng, who will enroll at Stanford next month, matched Russell over the last three holes to advance to the semifinals later Friday against Tyler Watts of Huntsville, Alabama. In that match, Watts, the match play portion’s No. 2 seed, prevailed 3 and 2.
The other semifinal featured Trevor Gutschewski of Omaha, Nebraska, who ousted stroke-play medalist Brian Blades in the second round, against Xihuan Chang of China. Gutschewski won that match, 2 and 1, as the No. 33 seed.
Gutschewski is the son of PGA Tour veteran Scott Gutschewski, competing this week at the 3M Open. He’s set to attend Florida this fall.
The 36-hole final is Saturday at 8 a.m. ET. Peacock will have live streaming of the second 18.
Russell was the last surviving Floridian and the only one to reach the third round. He also faced three consecutive opponents who will be playing college golf within a month: Leng (Stanford), CJ Winchenbaugh (Georgetown) and Billy Davis (Auburn).
Russell shot 74-70 at Detroit Golf Club in his PGA Tour debut.
Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, became the ninth-youngest player to tee it up in a PGA Tour event on Thursday when he shot 2-over 74 in the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club.
If he had anxiety it didn’t show much when he got his 5-7, 120-pound frame into a 305-yard drive down the left side of the 10th fairway on his first hole.
“I was a little nervous,” Russell said during his post-round news conference, assigning his stress level to about a 7 on a scale of 10. “That [was] probably my best drive of the day.”
Russell, who is 15 years, 7 months and 27 days old, missed the green with his second shot from 119 yards out, into the left bunker. His sand shot went 18 feet past the hole and he missed the par attempt, tapping in for a bogey-5.
He had an up-and-down round through the narrow, winding holes of the Donald Ross-designed course. Russell followed his opening bogey with 10 pars in a row, made his first career PGA Tour birdie on a putt of 1 feet, 8 inches at the par-4 third hole, then rebounded from a double-bogey 6 at the par-4 sixth hole to birdie the par-5 seventh on a putt of nearly 4 feet.
Russell missed a birdie attempt of 10 feet at No. 8 and finished with a bogey, three-putting the par-3 ninth from 31 feet, 7 inches. He missed a par attempt of 3 feet, 3 inches.
Amateur Miles Russell plays an approach shot on the 14th hole during the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club on June 27, 2024, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Raj Mehta/Getty Images)
Russell praised his playing partners
However, Russell said the score didn’t reflect how overjoyed he was about playing in his first PGA Tour event.
“Today was a great day,” he said. “For it to be the first [Tour round] … definitely wasn’t quite what I was hoping for, but we live, we learn, we move on. So looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully tomorrow’s going to be better.”
Russell started his second round on Friday at 8:57 a.m., starting at the first tee. He was 3 under through his front nine and near the projected cutline. He added a birdie on No. 11 that moved him to 2 under for the tournament, exactly at the projected cutline as of 11:30 a.m. A bogey on the next hole put him back to 1 under. A second bogey on the 16th hole sealed his fate, dropping him to even par for the week. He would par the last two holes for a 70 but he walked off the course tied for 104th as the cutline moved to 3 under.
Still, it was an impressive two-day total of 74-70–144 for the teenager.
Russell said playing partners Pierceson Coody and Rico Hoey, both in their first PGA Tour season, were more than helpful.
“They were great,” Russell said Thursday. “Walking off the first tee, they helped keep me loose and I think it was a cool experience for kind of all of us, but really cool one for me. I don’t know if I could ask for a better grouping.”
According to the PGA Tour research, the youngest player in a Tour event is Michelle Wie West in the 2004 Sony Open, at the age of 14 years, 3 months and 4 days.
Guan Tianling of China played in the 2013 Masters at 14 years, 5 months and 17 days. He also is the youngest player to make the cut in a major or a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.
Russell became the youngest player to make the cut in a Korn Ferry Tour event in April at the Lecom Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. He tied for 20th and qualified for the next event at the Veritex Bank Championship near Dallas, where he missed the cut.
Russell has acquitted himself well in three attempts at professional golf prior to this week. He shot 67 in a Monday qualifier in March for the Puerto Rico Open, and lost in a playoff for the fourth and final spot. His scoring average in seven rounds in pro events is 68.14 and he’s yet to shoot a round over par.
He will have at least one other pro start this season, at the PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship in November.
Who are the youngest players to compete on the PGA Tour?
Here are the players 15 years or younger to have played in a PGA Tour event, according to the PGA Tour and the four major championships:
Michelle Wie West: 2004 Sony Open, 14 years, three months, four days.
Guan Tianling: 2013 Masters, 14 years, five months, 18 days.
Andy Zhang: 2012 U.S. Open, 14 years, six months.
Lorens Chan: 2009 Sony Open, 14 years, seven months, 24 days.
Oliver Betschart: 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship, 15 years, three months, eight days.
Evan Pena: 2024 Puerto Rico Open, 15 years, three months, 28 days.
Tadd Fujikawa: 2006 U.S. Open, 15 years, five months, seven days.
John Oda: 2012 Sony Open, 15 years, seventh months, 22 days.
Miles Russell: 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic, 15 years, seven months, 26 days.
Bob Panasik: 1957 Canadian Open, 15 years, eight months, 20 days.
Cole Hammer: 2015 U.S. Open, 15 years nine months, 21 days.
Kenny Leseur: 2019 Butterfield Bermuda Championship, 15 years, nine months, 22 days.
If it were any other week at Detroit Golf Club, 15-year-old Miles Russell wouldn’t be allowed into the locker room. Good for him it’s not an ordinary week.
“This has always been the goal, to play at the highest level,” Russell said. “Don’t know, kind of just happened a little faster than I was thinking it might, but it’s just what happens when you have some good play.”
In addition to Russell, Nos. 2, 3 and 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking – Jackson Koivun, Ben James and Luke Clanton – are teeing it up this week in Detroit.
Don’t discount Clanton, either. The incoming junior at Florida State finished the year as the top-ranked golfer in the NCAA golf rankings. He also made the cut at the U.S. Open two weeks ago and helped the Seminoles to a runner-up finish at the NCAAs.
In a field that is lacking of the PGA Tour’s biggest stars, perhaps the amateurs can carry the torch this week. Three of the best players in college golf, plus the 15-year-old stud who is gaining popularity by the tournament, could be a shot in the arm for the Tour this week.
For Russell, it’s just another chance to prove he belongs.
“I have my own goals, but my goal is just to come out here and have fun,” Russell said. “That’s my main goal, have fun, maybe learn something, take something to my next event.”
Min Woo Lee has taken notice of Russell. A talented golfer in his amateur days, Lee said he was nervous when he teed it up in events at that age, but he also just tried to go out and just play golf.
“Again, he’s only 15, so I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of, you know, too much expectation,” Lee said. “Obviously he’s a great golfer. I mean, he’s got plenty of time to turn pro and still, yeah, years ahead of him. Hopefully he has fun and doesn’t beat me, but does well.”
When asked about Russell on Tuesday, Willie Mack III, who punched his ticket into the tournament thanks to his win Sunday in the John Shippen, was joking about the locker room situation for Russell.
“Yeah, he’s been playing well,” Mack said. “Hopefully he plays well this week and keep going.”
Miles Russell, Kris Kim, Blades Brown — at this pace, the Tour’s going to need to expand its daycare.
These kids are good.
The PGA Tour shouldn’t bother with reviving its old marketing slogan these guys are good because pretty soon none of them will be old enough to celebrate their successes with an alcoholic beverage.
First, it was 15-year-old Miles Russell, the youngest AJGA Player of the Year (displacing Tiger Woods), making the cut at a Korn Ferry Tour event (he finished T-20 in the LECOM Suncoast Classic) and nearly doing it again the following week. The high school freshman already has secured a sponsor exemption to the PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship in November, and the invites should be rolling in.
Last week, Kris Kim, 16, did one better, receiving a sponsor exemption into the PGA Tour’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson and shooting a first-round 64. He became the fifth-youngest player in the history of the PGA Tour to make the cut and the youngest in tournament history. Younger, in fact, than the Golden Child, Jordan Spieth. (Kim finished 65th.) Asked what he is most excited about when he gets back home, Kim responded with this classic answer: “I’ve got my driving license this year, so I think that’s going to be pretty cool.”
Man, so cool to see @BladesBrown2026 competing in his 1st @PGATOUR event. Blades is 16 and a So. in HS. Unreal bud. Like yesterday you, Chase, Hayes and all the boys were out there playin coach pitch. Happy for all your success-go gettem tomorrow and please give your Mom and Dad…
Impressive accomplishments, for sure, but when young golfers are doing seemingly remarkable things with such regularity it does take some of the wow factor away from the feat. These stories begin to feel more dog bites man than man bites dog. This latest kiddie corps, after all, isn’t that far removed from the age of Rose Zhang, who won in her LPGA debut last year, or Nick Dunlap, who won the American Express on the PGA Tour in January as an amateur and subsequently turned pro. Before celebrating his 21st birthday, Tom Kim won twice on the Tour and earned additional victories in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea and Singapore.
It wasn’t that long ago when Adam Scott and Dustin Johnson were the only players with multiple victories on the PGA Tour among players in their 20s. But Tiger Woods, besides winning eight to 10 times a year and preventing a generation from winning enough for World Golf Hall of Fame consideration, also gave rise to an influx of young, athletic talent. Talk to a PGA Tour Champions pro and he’ll tell you that in his day, he had to learn to shape shots and to flight the ball at different trajectories.
“You were almost serving an apprenticeship,” Woody Austin said. “You had to cut your teeth and get experience on Tour before you were ready to go win, and if you were any good, you’d do so in your 30s. Now, they come out of the box and they’re ready to go.”
Austin went on a lengthy rant about equipment, and he’s not wrong. The biggest factor, he said, is that the golf ball doesn’t curve anymore, and the penalty for hitting it crooked is less severe. So, newly minted pros and those still seeking their driver’s license don’t have to learn to work the ball both ways; just grip it and rip it. Another factor is that the equipment is so much easier to match. It used to take months of trial and error to find the right shaft and driver. If it used to take a player three months to determine that his driver is spinning the ball too much, it is now revealed in three shots. Now a player sets up his TrackMan or FlightScope, it spews out numbers and the whole bag can be reconfigured in an afternoon. Game-changer. Not to mention that there are data analytics experts to tell a player how to play a course and a green book that tells a player the break and read of the green. Experience is overrated.
The reason “these guys are good” is less of a secret. Players are being groomed like future pros well before they arrive at college. And when they turn pro, they travel with an entourage of swing, fitness and mental coaches. That these youngsters have the ability and the mental fortitude to compete with golfers more than twice their age and old enough to be their parent is still is impressive but it’s no longer something to marvel about. It’s a new day and age and one in which youth is not wasted on the young.
Miles Russell is still an amateur golfer and intends to remain so for the foreseeable future.
Miles Russell is still an amateur golfer and intends to remain so for the foreseeable future.
Russell, the 15-year-old Jacksonville Beach native who became the youngest player in history to finish among the top 20 in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event last week at the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Open, said he will keep to his junior and amateur schedule this summer, which will be capped by defending his title in the Junior Players Championship on Labor Day weekend at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
“That’s the plan,” he said Wednesday during a teleconference from the Veritex Bank Championship near Dallas, a tournament he’s playing thanks to his tie for 20th last week at Lakewood National. The Korn Ferry Tour gives players who finish among the top 25 a spot in the next event on the schedule. “I’m planning to play to play the rest of the summer like I planned to … a couple of junior, a couple of am events, see how it goes.”
Regardless of how Russell plays this week or any additional pro events, Russell said he’s not entertaining any thoughts of turning pro. His schedule includes events such as the Junior Players, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Junior, the Western Amateur, the North and South Amateur and a U.S. Open sectional qualifier, among other junior or amateur tournaments.
“It’s going to be a busy summer,” he said.
Russell also has a fall date on the PGA Tour: the Butterfield Bermuda Championship Nov. 14-17. Russell received an invitation to the FedEx Cup Fall tournament that will be reserved for the American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year.
Miles Russell’s ‘wild ride’
Russell will tee off at 3:43 p.m. on Thursday off No. 1 at the Texas Rangers Golf Club in Arlington, Texas, and at 10:08 a.m. on Friday from the 10th tee. His playing partners are Callum McNeill of Scotland (30 years old) and David Bradshaw (40).
Russell termed his last week “a wild ride,” and it’s no wonder. He first became the youngest player to ever make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour (and the third-youngest to make a cut in a PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament), then had weekend rounds of 70-66 to climb 28 spots on the leaderboard.
Russell said he’s taking great satisfaction from earning his way into the Veritex Championship after playing in the LECOM Open on a sponsor invitation.
“Earning something feels better than getting an exemption,” he said. “You know what you practiced for and what you live for and that’s what you did.”
He admitted that Sunday and Monday were exhausting days. Once he and his family knew he would finish among the top 25 while driving back to Jacksonville Beach, there were travel arrangements to be made and a new set of golf clothes to pack.
“All the emotion and excitement and adrenaline, that travel from Sunday night to Monday until I got here … it was a long, long day.”
Miles Russell hits from the 12th tee during the second round of the LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood National Golf Club Commander on April 19, 2024 in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Russell said his goals this week are the same
Russell said he likes the course and said the goal this week would be the same as last week.
“Just try to put … two good rounds together and see where that puts us compared to the cut,” he said. “If we make the cut, just try to have two more good rounds and see where that puts us.”
He said he’s been surprised by the attention for his play at Lakewood National, which comes on the heels of a string of junior golf accomplishments, such as winning the Junior Players, the Junior PGA and being named the AJGA Player of the Year, along with making the Junior Ryder Cup team and the first USGA Junior National team.
“If I had my choice I would not have any of it [the attention],” he said. “But it’s kind of what happens when you play well so you kind of got to get used to it every once in a while. Everybody’s been nice and easy to work with and hopefully it stays that way.”
Russell said being humble is in his nature.
“I think that’s kind of my personality,” he said. “I don’t like being showy with things, kind of like walking around a certain way. I like to just kind of go about my business and do my thing.”
He said he was surprised when there were autograph seekers following his final round on Sunday — admitting he needs to improve his handwriting — and said it was “really cool,” to get a shoutout on X from World Golf Hall of Fame member and fellow left-handed golfer Phil Mickelson.
“I’ve looked up to him,” he said. “Going to The Players, I always watched him.”
Russell praises caddie/teacher’s influence
Russell said his support team of parents Joe and Kelli and caddie Ramon Bescansa have helped him concentrate on golf as best he can, given sudden media requests and fan attention.
He said Bescansa, his swing instructor since he was 7 years old, is a calming influence as a caddie.
“He’s the nicest, most positive guy you’ll ever meet,” he said. “The vibes he puts off … when you’re on the golf course that’s all you need. He can flip the mood and get you going [and] his knowledge of golf is on a different level.”
Russell also predicted he won’t be the last 15-year-old to make such a splash.
“Everybody has access to a ton of stuff … launch monitors, some of the best coaches … the equipment companies are starting to help younger kids out with gloves, balls … all the stuff … having the right clubs to fit into,” he said. “Everybody’s just so talented. There’s so many ways to be good and everybody’s finding every little detail to be good at it, or try to be the best.”
Miles Russell, 15, is already a decorated amateur golfer. But after two rounds of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Lecom Suncoast Classic at Lakewood National Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, he’s made history.
After rounds of 68-66, Russell is now the youngest player ever to make a cut on the Korn Ferry Tour.
On Friday, Russell made two eagles on his front nine, one at the par-4 fourth and another at the par-5 ninth. Once he made the turn, he birdied Nos. 10 and 11 before a bogey at 13.
His second-round 5-under 66 has him tied for 26th after 36 holes and six shots back of the lead held by Brandon Crirk at 14 under.
History has been made in Lakewood Ranch. ⁰⁰Miles Russell is the youngest player to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour at 15 years, 5 months old. pic.twitter.com/aV0Spe3EFp
Next stop for Miles Russell, now 15, is the Korn Ferry Tour.
At 6:07 a.m. ET on Thursday morning, Russell was on the 10th tee alongside Kamaiu Johnson and Daniel Wetterich in the Lecom Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. He was 4 under through his first five holes.
He’s going to get out of school work for two days this week in his hometown of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, to play in his first PGA Tour-sanctioned event. The freshman, who’s been home-schooled for three years now, is in the field on a sponsor exemption.
He was oh-so-close to earning his way into a PGA Tour event, falling in a playoff for the Puerto Rico Classic.
Miles Russell takes a picture at the 2023 Junior Players Championship with Akshay Bhatia and fellow junior golfer Nancy Cox.
“I don’t know what to expect, but I’d love to make the cut and who knows, maybe have a good weekend and see where it puts me,” Russell said Tuesday when he played a practice round with Roberto Diaz, Sam Saunders and Rob Oppenheim.
Russell is the third-youngest golfer to play a Korn Ferry Tour event. He’s the fifth under the age of 16 to compete there, joining Michelle Wie West, Esteban Jaramillo, Greg Lavoie and Carter Jenkins, who is now a current Korn Ferry Tour member.
Yana Wilson and Miles Russell were named the 2023 American Junior Golf Association Players of the Year, the organization announced Thursday.
Russell, who turned 15 on Wednesday, is one of the youngest players to receive Rolex Junior Player of the Year honors. He is the first Florida native to earn top honors in the Boys Division since Peter Uihlein in 2007. Wilson is the first Nevada native to win Rolex Junior Player of the Year honors in either division.
In 2023, Russell had four wins in eight national junior golf events to end the season at No. 1 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. The 2027 grad started his first full season of AJGA events with two Junior All-Star event wins in just three weeks. He also captured the Junior PGA Championship, the Junior Players Championship and was a member of the Junior Ryder Cup team.
Wilson, an Oregon commit, won the junior portion of the Mizuho Americas Open and the AJGA Girls Invitational. She’s also a two-time member of the United States PING Junior Solheim Cup Team and a 2023 Junior Ryder Cup team participant.
Russell, Wilson and the 2023 Rolex Junior All-America Teams will be honored at the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet on Saturday, Nov. 18, in San Antonio, Texas. Then the duo, Rolex Junior All-Americans and a field of the top players in the Rolex AJGA Rankings will compete at the Rolex Tournament of Champions, Nov. 18-22 at TPC San Antonio – Canyons Course in San Antonio, Texas.
It was a special week for Gianna Clemente and Miles Russell.
It was a special week for Gianna Clemente and Miles Russell.
They’re both going home with some new hardware for the trophy case.
Clemente and Russell won their respective divisions of the 47th Junior PGA Championship at Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Clemente finished at 9-under 275, beating Yana Wilson, Kylie Chong and Kinsley Ni by three shots. Last year, Wilson beat Clemente in the U.S. Girls’ Junior final.
Meanwhile, Russell ran away with the title on the boys side, finishing at 18-under 266 to win by seven shots. Jackson Byrd and Billy Davis tied for second at 11 under.
With their victories, Clemente and Russell earned spots on the Junior Ryder Cup team. Also earning spots were Byrd on the boys side and Chong on the girls side.
