​Miles Russell, a 17-year-old from Jacksonville Beach, is making his seventh PGA Tour start this week at the ISCO Championship, scheduled for July 9-12 at the Hurstbourne Country Club in Louisville, Kentucky. If he continues to collect solid results—having made the cut at both the U.S. Open and the Puerto Rico Open, and tying for 15th in the Korn Ferry Tour Club Car Championship, his best finish in 13 professional starts—will he ever fulfill his plan to enroll at Florida State in the fall of 2027?
During the Pro-Am ahead of the ISCO Championship, Russell, who will soon begin his professional career in earnest, expressed that there has been no sign of impatience about accelerating his path to professional golf. In a July 8 news conference following the pro-am, Russell spoke more about absorbing lessons from the two players in his group for the first two rounds—Jackson Koivun, who played three years at Auburn, and Ben James, who spent four years at Virginia. “I think it will be fun playing with two guys not too much older than me, and they’re pretty new to this, too,” Russell said. “It will be cool to see what they’ve learned in their first few weeks as professionals and to pick their brains on that. I think it will just be a lot of fun.”
Russell acknowledged that his recent form—four cuts made in his last five professional starts, highlighted by a tie for 39th at the U.S. Open—has boosted his confidence. “Making the cut in Puerto Rico was kind of big to get that monkey off my back,” he said, referring to his first weekend in a PGA Tour event. “Kind of frees me up… maybe to try to play better than just making the cut.”
Though focused on pro opportunities, Russell isn’t abandoning amateur competition entirely, with three major events on the summer horizon. He is set to play in the U.S. Junior Boys Championship, July 20-25, at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, followed by the U.S. Amateur, August 10-16, at Merion Golf Club near Philadelphia. Last year, Russell reached the quarterfinals in both events. The U.S. Walker Cup team will be chosen after the U.S. Amateur, and Russell is considered a strong contender to represent the United States against Great Britain and Ireland, September 5-6 at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland. If selected, he would have to forgo a potential third Junior Players Championship title, as the Walker Cup dates (September 3-6) directly conflict with the tournament.
Russell’s group is scheduled to tee off at Hurstbourne’s first hole on July 9 at 1:39 p.m. and from the 10th hole on July 10 at 8:39 a.m. As they prepare, Koivun, who previously ranked No. 1 on certain SEO lists before turning professional, will also be part of the field during this week’s proceedings.