BRADENTON, Fla. — Another day, another sub-par round for 15-year-old Miles Russell.
Russell, from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, went on a tear mid-round on Sunday at the Lakewood National Commander Course and finished with a 66 and a four-round total of 14-under-par 270 in the Korn Ferry Tour Lecom Suncoast Classic.
At the time Russell finished, he was in a tie for 15th. He birdied four of five holes during one stretch, and seven of 10 and briefly was in a tie for third, four shots behind Patrick Cover’s 54-hole lead.
Cover and other contenders in the final few groups had yet to tee off at that point.
PHOTOS: Miles Russell
Russell shot under par in all four of his rounds, opening with a 68, then shooting 66 on Friday to become the youngest player in history to make the cut at a Korn Ferry Tour event, the PGA Tour’s pathway tour that began in 1990.
Russell also was the youngest First Coast native to play in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event, nearly three years younger than David Duval when he played in the 1990 U.S. Open.
Counting a Monday qualifier round in March for the Tour’s Puerto Rico Open (he shot 67 and missed getting into the field in a four-for-one playoff), Russell is 19 under in five rounds in professional tournaments.
Breaking down Russell’s final round
Russell began the day in a tie for 48th and after three opening pars, rapidly ascended the leaderboard.
He birdied Nos. 4, 6 and 7, then quickly rallied from a bogey at No. 8 to birdie Nos. 9, 10, 12 and 13.
He parred his next four before the closing bogey.
Russell hit seven of 13 fairways, his lowest total in a round this week, but hit 15 of 18 greens, his best of the week. He averaged 1.53 putts per green in regulation.
What’s next?
If Russell finishes among the top 25 at the Lecom Classic, he will qualify for a spot in next week’s Korn Ferry Veritex Bank Championship at the Texas Rangers Golf Club in Arlington, Texas. The option is available to non-members and amateurs.
Russell can’t be a full member of the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour until he is 18. He can play on sponsor invitations, Monday qualifiers or through his finishes in events (a top 10 in a PGA Tour event earns a spot in the next tournament, except for majors or signature events) and he would be capped at 12 starts in one season.