When he was 3, he preferred watching Golf Channel to cartoons. He reached the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals in 2018 as a 9-year-old. Last August, he won the boys division in the Junior PGA Championship. In November, he was named the boys junior golfer of the year by the AJGA.
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.
“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.
