Miles Russell's maiden start in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event just got even better after the 15-year-old became the youngest player to make a cut in Korn Ferry Tour history.
The teenage junior golf sensation followed up his opening-round 68 with a five-under-par 66 on Friday to make the cut by three shots at the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Florida.
In the process, Russell, the world’s top-ranked junior golfer, also joined Guan Tian Liang as the only player under 16 to make a cut on the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour.
"I'm kind of speechless," Russell said after his round on Friday. "The goal was to make the cut and we made it, so we'll see where the weekend goes.
"It's a cool record to break. I don't know how much longer [it will last]. People are getting so good, so young. It could hold out for a week, you never know, but it's pretty cool right now."
Sitting outside the top 40 following his first round, Russell made a superb start to his Friday round as he shot a front-nine 32 that included two eagles at the driveable par-4 fourth and the par-5 ninth.
Successive birdied followed at 10 and 11, with a bogey on 13 his only blemish of the day as the young American carded an impressive round of 66 to sit T26 and six shots off the leader Brandon Crick heading into the weekend.
His record-breaking achievement at Lakewood National Golf Club this week marks just the latest impressive accomplishments from his already decorated junior golfing career.
In 2023, Russell broke Tiger Woods' record for the youngest winner of the AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year award, a year that also saw him win the Junior PGA Championship and Junior Players Championship.
Miles Russell enters the weekend in style 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tms4PnvyrMApril 20, 2024
The high school freshman was quick to turn his attention to the weekend's action, though, and admitted he would now target a top-25 finish to earn his way into next week's event.
"To get into next week would be really cool. That's definitely the top goal and maybe something comes more than that but we'll see," he added.
"I knew it was going to be a good test to see where I am against some of the best. It's definitely something I'll remember even when times will get hard; I'll remember it when that happens and go with the flow."
