Miles Russell shoots 70, misses cut at Veritex Bank Championship

Miles Russell extended his streak of rounds under par to six on Friday, but it wasn’t enough to make his second consecutive cut on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Russell, 15, shot 1-under 70 in the second round to finish 4-under through two days at the Veritex Bank Championship. He was tied for 77th when he finished play, ultimately finishing T111 when the second round concluded on Saturday. Russell missed the cut by three strokes. The 36-hole cut was made at 7-under 135, tying the Korn Ferry Tour record for lowest 36-hole cut score and lowest 36-hole cut score relative to par, as 83 players advanced to the weekend.

It’s a remarkable achievement for the teenager, nonetheless. Russell, the reigning AJGA Boys Junior Player of the Year, earned his spot at the Veritex Bank Championship with a T20 at last week’s LECOM Suncoast Classic, into which the left-handed Floridian received a sponsor exemption. He validated that spot and then some with four rounds under par – 66, 68, 70, 66 – to become the youngest player to record a top-25 finish on the PGA TOUR or Korn Ferry Tour, on record (since 1983).

Russell shot an opening-round 68 on Thursday that would have been even lower if not for a closing bogey on the par-5 18th. It was the last hole of Friday’s round that tripped Russell, too. Russell put his approach shot in the water on the par-5 ninth hole, his 18th of the day. With a birdie, Russell could have made the weekend. Instead, Russell made a bogey to fall outside the projected cutline.

Russell’s star is only expected to get brighter. Earlier this week, Russell received a sponsor exemption to play in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in November. It marks the first tournament exemption in a partnership where the reigning AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year will receive an exemption into the PGA TOUR event at Port Royal Golf Course. It will be Russell’s first PGA TOUR event.

Last year, Russell became the youngest AJGA Boys Junior Player of the Year, surpassing Tiger Woods’ long-standing record. Russell’s 2023 season included back-to-back victories at TaylorMade TP5 Junior All-Star and Moon Golf Junior All-Star, in addition to a seven-shot win at the Junior PGA Championship and a three-shot win at the Junior PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. The native of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, is currently a high school freshman, attending online school. He joined 2009 AJGA Player of the Year Jordan Spieth and 2013 AJGA Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler in finishing in the top 25 in their TOUR-sanctioned debut; Spieth finished T16 at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson in 2010, while Scheffler finished T22 at the same event in 2014.

It’s lofty company for anybody to keep, but Russell’s play has validated it over the last two weeks. November in Bermuda can’t come soon enough.