“Right now, I’m at an all-time high. It can’t get much better than this,” 14-year-old Miles Russell said after lifting the Junior PLAYERS Championship last September. Seven months later, things did get ‘much better’ as Russell got one step closer to his dream of playing on the PGA Tour.
Russell, the No. 1 AGJA golfer, set a new Korn Ferry Tour record on Friday. In retrospect, it was expected considering the number of high-profile achievements already on his resume. Here are four of them, which makes it hard to believe that the No. 1 AJGA golfer has spent only 15 summers on earth.
Miles Russell is the youngest player to make the cut at KFT
The first round showed signs that Russell was here to stay. The top-ranked AJGA player opened his LECOM Sun Coast Classic with a 68. On Friday, he bettered that with a 66, tying for 26th. Playing on a sponsor exemption, Russell broke the previous record held by Gipper Finau in the 2006 Utah Championship.
Miles Russell became the youngest golfer ever to make the cut at a Korn Ferry event at the age of 15. Beyond impressive on the course and the mic. pic.twitter.com/zQMSYqi8jH
— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) April 20, 2024
“That’s a cool one for me. It’s a cool record, and hopefully, it will get broken,” said the 15-year-old after making the cut. Russell is just six shots off the lead. It was not the first record he broke, though.The youngest champ in the Junior PLAYERS Championship history
Last year, Miles Russell became the youngest champion of the Junior PLAYERS Championship. One month shy of 15, Russell shot 70-66-71, carding 9-under 207 to seal a three-stroke victory. “This is way better than any other tournaments I’ve played in. This is awesome!” Russell exclaimed. He was almost two years younger than the previous record-holder, Khavish Varadan of Malaysia. That also tied him for the highest AJGA wins that season.
Miles Russell broke a 32-year-old Tiger Woods record
Before the PLAYERS victory, Russell brought home another silverware: the Junior PGA Championship. The 15-year-old likes to win, and win big. At Hot Springs, the freshman was seven shots clear of the next two closest to him at 18 under. Recognition of that stellar year came in November, just a day after he turned 15.
Last year, Miles Russell joined Tiger Woods as the only boys to win the AJGA’s Player of the Year award before turning 16.
Today, he became the youngest player to ever make a Korn Ferry Tour cut. The 15-year-old is T26 entering the weekend.
Incredible.
— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) April 20, 2024
He was named the American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Boys Player of the Year, the youngest to earn the accolade, breaking Tiger Woods’s 1991 record. The 15-time Major champion was 10 months older than Russell.Russell is the youngest golfer to sign a Taylormade NIL deal
Even before legally earning his driving license, Russell has two name, image, and likeness deals under his belt. First, Transcend Capital Advisors signed the future prospect. Then TaylorMade came knocking on his door. At 15 years old, Miles Russell is the youngest golfer on the equipment giant’s roster, Josh Carpenter of the Sports Business Journal revealed.
Meet 15-year-old Miles Russell, the world No. 1 junior who is -4 thru 6 in his Korn Ferry Tour debut pic.twitter.com/deEpj4eJF6
— Ryan Ballengee (@RyanBallengee) April 18, 2024
The top 25 and ties at Lakewood National will earn a spot at the Veritex Bank Championship. You might see Miles Russell in Dallas, but he won’t get a special temporary membership to the Korn Ferry Tour. He isn’t 18 yet, no matter how hard to believe that might be.
