Miles Russell, a 15-year-old Florida phenom, finished a memorable week on and off the course in his home state.
First, the reigning AJGA Rolex junior player of the year signed a name, image and likeness deal with TaylorMade, the company announced. Then, to put that NIL deal on full display, he made his first start in a PGA Tour-sponsored event, at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Lecom Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
That sponsorship interest appears to have been well-placed in the left-hander.
Russell, a home-schooled freshman from Jacksonville Beach, became the youngest player – 15 years, 5 months, 17 days – to make a cut on the PGA Tour’s top developmental circuit when he shot rounds of 68 and 66 at Lakewood National to enter the weekend at 8-under 134. Not satisfied simply to make it to the weekend, he made a run up the leaderboard on Sunday, closing with a 5-under 66 to finish T20 at 14-under 270.
“I knew it was going to be a good test to see where I am against some of the best,” Russell said.
China’s Tianlang Guan, who was 14 and the reigning Asia-Pacific Amateur champion when he made the cut at the 2013 Masters, is the youngest player to qualify for the weekend on the PGA Tour. READ MORE
Innovate … or else.
That’s the message delivered last week to the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council from Theo Epstein, an adviser to the Fenway Sports Group, which is part of the investment group behind a new for-profit venture associated with the tour, according to a report by Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard.
In a one-hour-plus presentation before the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Epstein outlined how Major League Baseball enacted rules changes last year that were designed to speed up the game and appeal to a younger audience. Professional golf can learn from the changes, he said.
Also, the board of directors for PGA Tour Enterprises, a new business that has received up to $3 billion in commitment from Strategic Sports Group, met for nearly four hours at Hilton Head Island.
The PGA Tour is grappling with the defection of numerous star players to rival LIV Golf and lower TV viewership.
“I was really inspired by the hope and plan to make it better for the fans,” PAC member Max Homa said. “I think we hit this year-and-a-half- or two-year rut as both golfers and golf leagues that was just about making the players happy, and unfortunately and quite obviously the fans were not benefited by that.” READ MORE
Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images
Americans Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, who have paired in the Ryder and Presidents cup matches and are ranked among the world’s top 10, headline the field for this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event.
Schauffele, who is ranked No. 3 in the world, and No. 8 Cantlay won the 2022 Zurich Classic and tied for fourth last year.
The tournament also will feature No. 2-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland in his New Orleans debut, teaming with Ireland’s Shane Lowry. Three brother duos were entered: American twins Pierceson and Parker Coody, Danish twins Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard, and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and his younger brother, Alex.
The 80 two-man teams will play an alternating-round format of four-ball and foursomes at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, southwest of New Orleans. READ MORE
TAP-INS
American John Catlin cruised to a seven-stroke, wire-to-wire victory at the Saudi Open, earning his second consecutive title on the Asian Tour. Catlin, a 33-year-old Californian who won the International Series Macau last month, nearly made history in claiming his sixth career title on the Asian Tour. He was within five holes of becoming the first player to go bogey-free for 72 holes. Catlin’s 24-under 260 total was worth $180,000 from the $1 million prize fund. He leads the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit. READ MORE
Chevron Corporation extended its title-sponsorship of the first major championship of the LPGA season, the tour announced before last week’s Chevron Championship at The Woodlands, Texas. With a commitment through 2029, the San Ramon, California-based energy giant, which is part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and has a large presence in the Houston area, also boosted the tournament prize fund to $7.9 million, the fifth-highest on tour, and guaranteed payments of $10,000 to players who missed the 36-hole cut. Chevron’s additional $2.7 million in prize money increased the LPGA’s combined 2024 purse to $123.25 million. READ MORE
Defending champion Lilia Vu withdrew before the start of the Chevron Championship, posting on Instagram that she felt “severe discomfort” in her back. Vu, a 26-year-old Californian, was Global Golf Post’s 2023 female player of the year after her four-victory season last year that included two major titles and elevated her to No. 2 in the world ranking. READ MORE
The “Inside the LPGA” podcast, hosted by the women’s tour’s Hope Barnett and journalist Adam Stanley, debuted last week. READ MORE
A near-record 10,052 entries were accepted by the USGA for the 124th U.S. Open, to be played June 13-16 at Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 course in North Carolina. The number of entrants ranks third all-time to the 10,187 received for last year’s open at Los Angeles Country Club and the 10,127 for the 2014 Open at Pinehurst. Local qualifying begins today and continues through May 20 at 109 sites in the U.S. and Canada. READ MORE
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina will host the 2031 PGA Championship, the PGA of America announced. The site, home to the Americans’ famed “War on the Shore” victory at the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2012 and 2021 PGAs won by Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, respectively, also will host the 2029 PGA Junior boys and girls events. READ MORE
Denmark’s Thomas Bjørn will return to Europe’s Ryder Cup team as an assistant captain for the 2025 matches. Bjørn, 53, a 15-time winner on the European Tour, played on three victorious Ryder Cup teams and captained Europe’s winning 2018 squad in France. He assisted Luke Donald’s victorious 2023 team in Rome. Bjørn will join Edoardo Molinari as assistants for the matches, to be played September 26-28 at Bethpage Black in New York. READ MORE
LIV Golf announced five hires for its executive team. READ MORE
Compiled by Steve Harmon