Miles Russell, 15, shoots 2-over 74 in PGA TOUR debut at Rocket Mortgage Classic

Miles Russell set two goals for his PGA TOUR debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic this week: Have fun and learn something.

Russell was not satisfied with the end result of his first round, a 2-over 74, but he’s well on his way to meeting both goals.

“Today was a great day," Russell said. "I mean, for it to be the first, definitely wasn't quite what I was hoping for, but we live, we learn, we move on. Looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully tomorrow's going to be better.”

The 15-year-old showed glimpses of the promise that has other TOUR pros raving about his potential. Standing just 5-foot-7 and weighing 120 pounds, Russell striped his tee shot 305 yards on his opening hole, the 10th. He stuffed a wedge to 20 inches on the third hole — Russell’s 12th hole of the day — and converted the short putt for his first PGA TOUR birdie.

The round also included plenty of learning opportunities. Russell bogeyed the 10th after his long drive, misfiring with the approach shot. Russell flared a wedge into the left bunker, short-siding himself to the tucked left pin. He played his bunker shot to 18 feet and missed the par putt. Russell made 10 consecutive pars from there, a mix of impressive up-and-downs and narrowly missed birdie putts.

Russell’s biggest blunder came on par-4 sixth, the hardest hole on the course. Russell drove his ball into the trees on the right. He attempted to hit the hero shot, working the ball left-to-right and low under the trees, but could not get it out of the rough. His second attempt landed on the green but ran into the back rough, and Russell failed to get up and down from there, leading to a double-bogey.

It would’ve been understandable for Russell to sulk into the clubhouse from there, but the teenager bounced back with a birdie on the par-5 seventh, nearly hitting the green with his second shot and converting a routine up-and-down for another birdie. Russell almost added another birdie at 17 but missed a 10-foot putt and settled for par. That positive momentum was stifled with a three-putt bogey on the par-3 ninth, Russell’s last hole of the day.

“I learned a lot,” Russell said. “Especially when you don't play your best, but then watch Pierceson (Coody) and Rico (Hoey), I mean, they grind it out and they shot a couple under. It's like that could have very easily been what I did, just didn't quite make enough putts and made a few unforced errors.”

Russell will have to shoot a low one on Friday to make the cut, though he will have some experience to fall back on. In April, he became the youngest player ever to make a cut on the Korn Ferry Tour. He finished T20 to become the youngest to finish in the top 25 of a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event.

He has peers to look to as validation, as well. Russell is the latest in a run of phenoms on the PGA TOUR this year. Kris Kim and Blades Brown, both 16, made the cut at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson and Myrtle Beach Classic, respectively.

Russell isn’t even the only young, talented phenom in the field. Amateurs Jackson Koivun, Luke Clanton and Ben James all received sponsor exemptions into the event. Koivun, the 19-year-old incoming Auburn sophomore and No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, shot even par. James, No. 3 in the WAGR, shot 2-under. Clanton, who helped Florida State reach the finals of the NCAA Championships and is fourth in the WAGR, shot 3-under.

Additionally, recently-turned-pro Neal Shipley shot 5-under 67. Shipley finished as the low amateur at the Masters and U.S. Open. He carded a top 10 in his professional debut last week on PGA TOUR Americas.