DETROIT — Myles Russell's pants don't fit. He had no intention of showing off his ankles in Thursday's first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. It's just that his recent inseam measurement no longer fits. He had a rapid growth spurt and now, at 5-foot-7, he wears pants designed for 5-foot-6. His waist, meanwhile, is nearly nonexistent. At 120 pounds, he wears a 28-inch waistline with a belt cinched in.
On Thursday, Russell walked around the Detroit Golf Club, flashing his ankle with every step.
This is life at 15.
Russell made his PGA Tour debut at Rocket Mortgage, shooting a 2-over 74. Born in 2009, he signed autographs for 7-year-olds, 10-year-olds, 15-year-olds and several adults. He took every swing with the PGA Tour live cameras a few feet behind him. He held press conferences the day before and after the first round. He played from a 7,370-yard tee. He faced 10 of the top 50 players in the world.
And what's the strangest thing about it?
It felt oddly normal.
Two 16-year-olds have already qualified for the PGA Tour this year: Chris Kim at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and Blaze Brown at the Myrtle Beach Classic. Last year, 15-year-old Oliver Betchart won a 54-hole qualifier to play in the Bermuda Championship, becoming the youngest player to play in a PGA Tour event in nearly a decade. He was three months younger than Russell is now.
15-year-old Miles Russell scores his first birdie on tour 🤩 pic.twitter.com/5tLfnf5HuW
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 27, 2024
Now, Rocket Mortgage's Russell is in the mix. In April, he made headlines by playing in the Korn Ferry Tour's LECOM Suncoast Classic, becoming the youngest player in developmental tour history to qualify, with scores of 68 and 66. Russell then followed that up with a T20 with scores of 70 and 66. The winner, Tim Widing, was 11 years older than him.
Tournament organizers at Rocket Mortgage noticed Russell's performance at the Suncoast Classic and reached out to capitalize on his story, because what a tournament like the Rocket desperately needs is attention, no matter how. Detroit doesn't have many big names, so a compelling story is needed. The No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 amateurs in the world, Jackson Coyvan, Benjamin James and Luke Clanton, are all in the field this year. Clanton is making his PGA Tour debut, as is Neil Shipley, who recently turned pro after finishing last as an amateur at the Masters and U.S. Open. As Shipley left the course on Thursday, he was told he had a spot in next week's John Deere Classic, another PGA Tour event not at high altitude.
However, all of the people with these names have at least attended or graduated from college.
Although he is not attending school, Russell just finished his freshman year of high school. The Jacksonville Beach, Florida native started playing golf at age 2, made a par at age 6, and has been on a winning trajectory ever since. He learned to play golf at home and already runs his own small business. He has an agent and name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with TaylorMade and Nike.
The number 15 sounds jarring, so some may see Russell as a novelty.
In fact, this is becoming more and more common.
Russell didn't come to Detroit as a kid looking to high-five his heroes.
Rico Hoey, Russell's playing partner on Thursday, was on the practice green after the round and still seemed a little in disbelief. Now 28, he was hoping to break 80 at Russell's age. Going into the first round, he figured he'd have to take it easy on the young star, Pearson Coody, a 24-year-old PGA Tour rookie and three-time Korn Ferry winner. And then they faced Coody.
“It would be pretty nerve-wracking for you to play here as a 15-year-old, so we tried to make him comfortable, to make him relaxed, but I don't know if he really needed that,” Hoey said. “He was calm. His short game is really good. He's got great distance for someone his size. He's playing really well, very calm.”
Russell shot 74 in his first round on the PGA Tour on Thursday. (Raj Mehta/Getty Images)
In any sport, there will be some who are inherently uncomfortable with a young, elite talent making their professional debut so early, but that never stops the phenomenon. And golf seems to be on the rise and getting younger and younger. It's reasonable to expect that someone will soon surpass Michelle Wie West as the youngest player to tee off in a PGA Tour event. She was 14 years, 3 months and 7 days old when she competed in the 2004 Sony Open.
The most surprising thing isn't the age, but how small the gap is between the kids and the pros. Russell is no muscular power hitter. Instead, he's flexible and, with his coach, former Korn Ferry player Ramon Vascanza, has developed a swing that generates clubhead speed that rivals the pros. His average tee distance on Thursday was 292 yards, which tied him for 78th out of 156 competitors.
But that doesn't mean everything around him is still out of place. He's not technically old enough to enter the men's locker room at the Detroit Golf Club, but an exception has been made this week. He can't drive, rent a car or check into a hotel alone. In the group behind Russell, 36-year-old Rafael Campos, smoked a few cigarettes as he played his round. It's three more years before Russell will be able to legally buy cigarettes.
Afterwards, Russell answered questions about his experience, but all he was really worried about was his golf. He talked about some unforced errors and missed putts. He said he learned from watching Coody and Hoey how tour pros “hustle and shoot two under.” He said he was, of course, nervous to start the round. How would he rate out of 10? “Probably a seven.” But he downplayed the idea that he was intimidated.
Russell, quiet in his voice and clearly still a little frustrated, missed a three-foot putt on the final hole and ended up with a bogey.
“We live, we learn, we move on,” he said, sounding not just like someone used to performing on the road, but almost expecting it.
For better or worse, maybe it's not so strange anymore.
(Top photo: Raj Mehta/Getty Images)