How 15-year-old Miles Russell coped

Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, became the ninth-youngest player to play a PGA Tour event on Thursday. He shot a 2-par 74 in the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.

If he was feeling any anxiety, it wasn’t too noticeable as he launched his 5-7, 120-pound frame into a 305-yard drive down the left side of the 10th fairway on his first hole.

“I was a little nervous,” Russell said during the post-round press conference, rating his stress level at about a 7 on a 10-point scale. “That (was) probably my best lead of the day.”

Russell, who is 15 years, 7 months and 27 days old, missed the green with his second shot from 119 yards into the left bunker. His sand shot missed the hole by 18 feet and missed par, making bogey-5.

Rocket mortgage: Photos | Leaderboard

He led the round up and down the narrow, twisty holes on the Donald Ross-designed course. Russell followed his first bogey with 10 straight pars, made his first career PGA Tour birdie with a 1-foot, 8-inch putt on the par-4 third hole and then bounced back from a double-bogey 6 on the par-4 sixth hole, a birdie-worthy hole on the par-5 seventh with a 4-foot putt.

Russell missed birdie from 10 feet on No. 8 and finished with a bogey, three-putting the par-3 ninth hole from 31 feet, 7 inches. He missed par from 3 feet, 3 inches.

Russell praised his playing partners

However, Russell said the result did not reflect his joy at playing in his first PGA Tour event.

“Today was a great day,” he said. “It was the first round of the tour… it definitely wasn’t what I was hoping for, but we live, we learn, we move on. So I’m looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully tomorrow will be better.”

Russell started his second round at 8:57 a.m. Friday, starting from the first tee. He was 3 under going into the front nine and close to the projected cut line. He added a birdie on No. 11 to move him into the tournament at 2 under, right on the projected cut line at 11:30. A bogey on the next hole brought him back to 1 under. A second bogey on the 16th hole sealed his fate and equalized his score for the week. The final two holes would have given him a score of 70, but he went off course with a tie for 104th as the cut line moved to 3 under.

Nevertheless, it was an impressive two-day result for the teenager – 74-70-144.

Russell said playing partners Pierceson Coody and Rico Hoey, both in their first season on the PGA Tour, were more than supportive.

“They were great,” Russell said Thursday. “Coming off the first tee, they helped me loosen up and I think it was a cool experience for all of us, but really cool for me. I don’t know if I could have asked for a better training camp.”

According to research conducted by the PGA Tour, the youngest player to play on Tour is Michelle Wie West, who played in the Sony Open in 2004. She was 14 years, 3 months and 4 days old.

Guan Tianling of China played in the 2013 Masters at the age of 14 years, 5 months and 17 days. He is also the youngest player to qualify in a major or a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.

Russell became the youngest player to qualify for a Korn Ferry Tour event in April at the Lecom Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. He finished 20th and qualified for the next event at the Veritex Bank Championship near Dallas, where he did not make the cut.

Russell had performed well in three attempts at professional golf before this week. He shot a 67 in Monday qualifying in March for the Puerto Rico Open and lost in a playoff for fourth and final place. He has an average of 68.14 in seven rounds of professional play and has yet to shoot over par in a round.

He will have at least one more professional start on the PGA Tour this season at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Who are the youngest players to compete on the PGA Tour?

Here are the players 15 and under who have competed on the PGA Tour, according to the PGA Tour and the four major championships:

• Michelle Wie West: Sony Open 2004, 14 years, three months and four days.
• Guan Tianling: Masters 2013, 14 years, five months and 18 days.
• Andy Zhang: US Open 2012, 14 years and six months.
• Lorens Chan: Sony Open 2009, 14 years, seven months and 24 days.
• Oliver Betschart: Butterfield Bermuda Championship 2023, 15 years, three months, eight days.
• Evan Pena: 2024 Puerto Rico Open, 15 years, three months and 28 days old.
• Tadd Fujikawa: US Open 2006, 15 years, five months, seven days.
• John Oda: Sony Open 2012, 15 years, seventh month, 22 days.
• Miles Russell: Rocket Mortgage Classic 2024, 15 years, seven months, 26 days.
• Bob Panasik: Canadian Open 1957, 15 years, eight months and 20 days.
• Cole Hammer: US Open 2015, 15 years, nine months and 21 days.
• Kenny Leseur: 2019 Butterfield Bermuda Championship, 15 years, nine months and 22 days.