Miles Russell: Futures Champion to PGA Tour Debut
Miles Russell, the Jacksonville native that started playing golf on the Florida Junior Tour, has now become a household name at only 15 years old. Russell made waves across the professional golf world earlier this year when he became the youngest player to ever make the cut at a Korn Ferry Tour event. Russell fired rounds of 68-66-70-66 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic described his experience in an interview with the PGA TOUR as, “It was an awesome week. It was a blast,” he further explained, “The goal was to make the cut and we made it. The big goal would be top-25 and to get into next week.”
Russell achieved his goal after finishing T-20 in his first ever Korn Ferry Tour event and also earning a spot into the Veritex Bank Championship the following week in Dallas. Falling just short of the cut, Russell still fired under-par rounds of 68-70 in his second consecutive Korn Ferry Tour event.
Now, only a few short months later, Russell is set to make his PGA TOUR debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic which will be played at Detroit Golf Club. The tournament will begin Thursday, June 27 and Russell will tee it up at 2:11pm off of the tenth hole.
The #1 ranked junior has proven himself to be quite the phenom. Not only has he won both the Junior PGA Championship and the Junior PLAYERS, but he was also the youngest player to win AJGA Player of the Year surpassing a record held by none other than Tiger Woods. In addition, he is also a member of the U.S. National Junior Team announced by the USGA earlier this year.
However, before the Team Florida member achieved all of these outstanding accolades, he started his career on the Florida Junior Tour. He has captured 14 wins on the Florida Junior Tour including a victory this season at the FJT Deerwood Open. Russell also captured his first championship win at the 2021 Futures Championship where he fired a 71-66 to outlast the field by four strokes.
It certainly has been fun to watch our 2021 Futures Champion develop into a world class player. Indeed, that is the goal the FSGA has for our juniors starting out and finding their way in the golf world through the Florida Junior Tour. Russell has earned a spot on Team Florida for three consecutive years as he shows outstanding sportsmanship and etiquette along with his remarkable talent for the game of golf.