Blades Brown, Miles Russell easily qualify for match play at U.S. Junior Amateur

Oakland Hills’ South Course is known as “The Monster,” a famous moniker given by Ben Hogan after he won the 1951 U.S. Open.

Hogan brought the course to its knees that week, and two of the world’s top amateurs hope to do the same this week. So far, so good. Miles Russell and Blades Brown, both of whom made their PGA TOUR debuts this summer, navigated the beastly South Course on Tuesday during the second round of the U.S. Junior to advance to match play.

Brown secured medalist honors with a second-round 68. He was 6-under in the stroke play portion, one better than Tyler Watts. Russell finished T12 at 1-under, comfortably inside the top-64 threshold.

“It gives me so much momentum and fuel and confidence,” Brown said. “But in match play anything can happen. I'm looking forward to it.”

It comes as no surprise. Russell and Brown are ranked first and third in the Boys Rolex AJGA Rankings, respectively. They were two of the favorites entering the week. Brown made his PGA TOUR debut at the Myrtle Beach Classic this spring and finished T26. Russell became the youngest player ever to make a cut and finish in the top 25 of a Korn Ferry Tour event earlier this year. He made his TOUR debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last month and missed the cut.

Among both players’ long list of amateur accomplishments, neither counts a U.S. Junior Am victory among them. It’s one of the best predictors of future pro success. Former winners include Tiger Woods (three times), Jordan Spieth (two times), Scottie Scheffler, Will Zalatoris, Min Woo Leee, Nick Dunlap and Michael Thorbjornsen.

Brown, 17, reached the finals of the 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. He won five times in 2023, including a 12-stroke victory at the Tennessee Junior Amateur and a win at The Elite Invitational. Brown reached the Round of 32 in the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club after surpassing Bobby Jones as the youngest stroke-play co-medalist in the championship’s history. He’s making his third appearance at the U.S. Junior.

Russell won both the Junior PGA Championship and Junior PLAYERS at 14, then won the AJGA’s Player of the Year Award a day after turning 15, supplanting Tiger Woods as the youngest to win AJGA Player of the Year. He is a two-time Drive, Chip & Putt national finalist and is competing in his second U.S. Junior Amateur after reaching match play in 2022.

Here are a few other names to watch as match play begins Wednesday:

Billy Davis, 18, Spring Valley, California: The No. 3-ranked player in Rolex AJGA Rankings, Davis is no stranger to this stage. He made the semifinals at last year’s U.S. Junior Am and finished third at the Junior PGA. Davis made his PGA TOUR debut last fall at the World Wide Technology Championship, making it through the Monday qualifier. Davis shot under par in both rounds but missed the cut by three shots. “It gave me a ton of confidence knowing that I can, on a good day, compete with those guys. Davis’ sister, Anna, won the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Mason Howell, 17, Thomasville, Georgia: Riding a hot putter, Howell has put together a strong 2024. He entered the week with five consecutive top 10s, including a pair of runners-up at the RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic and Wyndham Invitational presented by Odyssey. Currently 17th in the Boys Rolex AJGA Rankings, Howell co-led at Oakland Hills after first round 5-under 65 and “just didn’t want to do anything too crazy” on Day 2 to ensure he made match play. A second-round 74 did the trick. He is in to match play for the first time in three appearances. An incoming junior at Brookwood High School in Georgia, Howell had more than a dozen college coaches watching his round Tuesday, including Alabama head coach Jay Seawell. “We’re going to make that decision in the fall or winter. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Sean Keeling, 17, Republic of Ireland: An incoming Texas Tech freshman, Keeling played on the Junior European Ryder Cup team last fall and won the Irish Boys Amateur Open Championship earlier this year. Keeling shot 69-68 (3-under overall) in the opening two rounds at Oakland Hills to comfortably make match play. He reached the Round of 32 at last year’s U.S. Junior Am. “I felt like I was trending up the last couple events I played in Europe,” Keeling said. “Felt confident going in and feel confident going into match play.”

Tyler Watts, 16, Huntsville, Alabama: Watts has won four times in the last 12 months, including the Jones Cup Junior and Alabama State Amateur. He also finished fourth at the Junior PLAYERS Championship.

Luke Colton, 17, Frisco, Texas: A two-time winner already this summer, Colton hasn’t finished outside the top 12 in any WAGR-recognized event this year. And he finished T9 through two days of stroke play at Oakland Hills. He’s one of the hottest golfers on the junior circuit.

Joshua Bai, 18, New Zealand: Last year’s U.S. Junior Am runner-up will have a chance to avenge his loss. Bai shot a bogey-free 65 on the North Course Tuesday. This will be his last U.S. Junior Am. Bai is expected to turn pro later this year, per Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine.

Trevor Gutschewski, 17, Elkhorn, Nebraska: The son of PGA TOUR player Scott Gutscheski, Trevor will play match play in his first appearance at the U.S. Junior Am. He shot back-to-back rounds of 1-over 72 to qualify. He also won the Nebraska Junior Amateur Match Play Championship earlier this year.