At just 15 years old, Miles Russell made history as the youngest golfer to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour event, competing against many golfers aiming to earn a spot on the PGA Tour.
Last weekend at the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Florida, Russell managed a top-25 finish. He was among 10 golfers who finished at 14 under, six strokes behind the winner, Tim Widing. While those tied with him earned over $10,000, Russell is an amateur, and his payday was $0.
Russell’s impressive performance secured him a spot in the upcoming Veritex Bank Championship
Despite his amateur status preventing him from joining the Korn Ferry Tour until age 18, Russell’s impressive performance secured him a spot in the upcoming Veritex Bank Championship near Dallas.
“It was an awesome week. It was a blast,” Russell told reporters. “Especially for my first one, you may get a couple weird looks, like, ‘Who’s the little kid on the range?’ But, you know, everybody was so nice and so helpful with everything.”
The Korn Ferry Tour serves as a gateway to the PGA Tour, with the top 30 players each year qualifying for the next PGA season. Golfers winning three tournaments within a season can fast-track their PGA Tour entry.
Russell’s remarkable showing caught the eye of renowned golf figures, “This is an amazing accomplishment. It’s great to see a young lefty playing such incredible golf,” six-time major champion Phil Mickelson wrote on X.
Russell entered the tournament as ranked No. 1 by the American Junior Golf Association. He won such tournaments last year as the Junior PGA Championship and the Junior Players Championship.
Miles Russell won the AJGA Player of the Year title at a younger age than Tiger Woods
In 2023 Miles Russell won the Junior PGA Championship by seven strokes and became the Junior Players Championship’s youngest winner. He won the AJGA Player of the Year title at a younger age than Tiger Woods.
Last month, he lost a playoff in a Monday qualifier for the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open.
Guan Tianlang of China is the youngest player to make the cut in a PGA Tour tournament. He was 14 years old when he made the Masters cut in 2013, where he competed as the Asia-Pacific Amateur champion.
Widing became a first-time Korn Ferry champion by defeating Steven Fisk and Patrick Cover in a playoff.