Miles Russell hits a tee shot during the first round of the 2024 Veritex Bank Championship. | Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images
15-year-old Miles Russell continues to play well on the Korn Ferry Tour, despite his youth and inexperience.
Miles Russell continues to prove himself on the biggest of stages.
The 15-year-old Floridian earned a spot in last week’s LECOM Suncoast Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour and took full advantage of the opportunity by finishing in a tie for 15th. That paved the way for another exemption in Texas, where Russell opened the Veritex Bank Championship with a 3-under 68.
The left-hander opened his round with eight straight pars but finally broke through with a birdie at the par-5 9th. A long-range bomb from 30 feet followed at 11, and another birdie at the par-3 12th came minutes after. Suddenly, Russell sat at 3-under and in a solid position through 12 holes.
Russell made another birdie at the drivable, par-4 16th, which measured 329 yards on Thursday. But he made a costly mistake on the final hole, a par-5, as he three-putted from 25 feet for a bogey six.
Still, Russell played beautifully from tee to green, hitting 13-of-14 fairways and 16-of-18 greens. He scrambled nicely, too, going 2-for-2 when he missed the putting surface with his approaches.
But at the end of the day, Russell is 10 strokes behind Frankie Capan III, who shot 58 and broke Scottie Scheffler’s course record in the process.
Still, Russell has a great chance to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour again—one week after becoming the youngest player to record a top-25 finish on the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour since 1983.
He will likely need another round in the 60s to make the cut again, but knowing how much talent this 15-year-old has, that is most certainly within the realm of possibilities.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
