Teenage sensation Miles Russell has narrowly missed out on winning one of the most prestigious amateur golf events, the Jones Cup Invitational at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Georgia.
The 16-year-old shared the top of the leaderboard with Florida State’s Gray Albright at four-under heading into the final round of the 54-hole individual strokeplay event.
Albright followed his four under 68 on Friday with an even-par 72 on Saturday to take his place at the summit, while Rusell joined him after his bogey-free 68 on Saturday followed a round of 72 on Friday.
Russell couldn’t quite find the consistency of the second round on Sunday, particularly on the front nine, where a birdie on the third was tempered by three bogeys before the turn.
He then made his second birdie of the day on the 10th, but he couldn’t quite get into gear, with successive pars between the 11th and 17th before finishing with another bogey for a 74 that left him T3, two shots behind Albright and another Florida State University player, Jack Bigham.
Eventually, with the light having faded, Albright triumphed in the playoff with a par on the first extra hole to become the 21st champion and join the likes of Patrick Reed, Justin Thomas, Corey Conners, Akshay Bhatia and Ludvig Aberg as winners of the tournament.
Despite his near miss, it was another solid performance from Russell as his fledgling career continues to catch the eye.
After winning junior titles including the 2018 Junior Honda Classic and the 2020 & 2021 US Kids World Championship, Russell was thrust into the spotlight at the 2023 Junior Players Championship, where rounds of 70-66-71 saw him become the youngest champion in the tournament's history.
He then became the youngest winner of the AJGA Boys Junior Player of the Year in 2023, surpassing Tiger Woods’s record before becoming the youngest player to make the cut in a Korn Ferry Tour event at the 2024 LECOM Suncoast Classic, where he finished T20.
That earned him a sponsor's exemption to the PGA Tour's Butterfield Bermuda Championship last November, but before playing in the event, he also teed it up on the circuit’s Rocket Mortgage Classic that June.
There were further highlights in 2024, including three victories, most recently in December’s South Beach International Amateur, leaving him 51st in the World Amateur Golf Ranking ahead of this week’s event.
