15-year-old Miles Russell makes his tour debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic 2024 at Detroit Golf Club.
Roddy ConsRoddyConsUpdate: Jun 27th, 2024 15:00 EDT0
RAJ MEHTAAFP
There’s no Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy or Tiger Woods at the Rocket Mortgage Classic 2024 at Detroit Golf Club in Michigan this week, which means 15-year-old PGA Tour debutant Miles Russell will get plenty of the spotlight.
Russell isn’t the first teenager to make his first appearance on tour this year, following in the footsteps of Kris Kim and Blades Brown earlier in the season. He is, however, the youngest, with those two old timers by comparison at the age of 16.
“I am thankful to Rocket Mortgage for giving me the opportunity to make my PGA TOUR debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic,” the youngster said in a statement. “Ever since I first started playing golf, my dream has been to compete on the PGA TOUR and test my game against the best players, and I’m looking forward to making the most of the experience later this month.”
Oldest player in the field: 51-year-old Stewart Cink🤝Youngest player in the field: 15-year-old Miles RussellGolf knows no age. pic.twitter.com/9zjOyWa1c5
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 26, 2024
In 2023, Russell won the Junior PGA Championship and the Junior Players Championship, and was named the American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year, achieving that feat at a younger age than Tiger Woods.
Is Miles Russell the youngest player to play on the PGA Tour?
But despite his tender years, Russell, born on 1 November 2008, is not the youngest player to ever play in a PGA Tour event.
Lorens Chan, at the 2009 Sony Open in Hawaii, and Andy Zhang, in the 2012 US Open, both played for the first time before turning 15.
In 2013, Chinese golfer Guan Tianlang appeared in the 2013 Masters at Augusta as an amateur at the age of 14 years and 5 months, making him the youngest player to make a cut on the PGA Tour and in a major championship.
15-year old Junior PGA Champion Miles Russell makes his @pgatour debut today. 👀 Let's go! pic.twitter.com/KyVaORWoXR
— PGA of America (@PGA) June 27, 2024
The youngest ever PGA Tour golfer
That came more than nine years after women’s golfing prodigy Michelle Wie (West) crossed over to the men’s tour at the 2004 Sony Open, also in Hawaii.
