SOUTHAMPTON, New York — Some U.S. Open players could list Tiger Woods’ win at the 1997 Masters as their first vivid golf memory.
Miles Russell’s first was also Woods’ win at the Masters ... in 2019.
Russell, the No. 1 junior golfer in the country, is the youngest of the 156-player field at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Long Island.
“I’m going to treat it like if it was an AJGA (American Junior Golf Association tournament), where I’m just trying to come here and play good golf and see where my game lines up with some of the best players in the world,” he said Wednesday.
Those putting together tee times had a little fun: Russell, a 17-year-old from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, is in a group on Thursday and Friday with Padraig Harrington, the 54-year-old U.S. Senior Open champion who is the oldest in the field.
Russell was in the womb when Harrington won the Open Championship and the PGA Championship in 2008.
Russell was 9 years old when Shinnecock last hosted the U.S. Open in 2018. He remembers “bits and pieces” from watching highlights.
“My first kind of golf memory from watching it was maybe (Jordan) Spieth in 2015 at the Masters,” he said. “I think really remembering it was Tiger in 2019.”
Russell stars on Bryson DeChambeau’s YouTube
Russell is already getting used to the spotlight. He joined Bryson DeChambeau for a video on the two-time U.S. Open champion’s YouTube channel that has nearly three million views since December.
“I was walking down the range the other day, and (DeChambeau) was hitting balls,” Russell said Wednesday. “He stopped what he was doing, came over and said hi and just chatted for a minute. It was pretty cool.”
Another surreal moment: hitting balls next to Spieth.
“I looked up to him as a little guy,” Russell said. “That’s just really cool. I think it’s probably even cooler for my parents.”
Already this year, Russell made his first PGA Tour cut — tying for 50th at the Puerto Rico Open in March. He also made two of three cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour, two years after becoming the youngest player to make a cut on that circuit.
Russell qualified for U.S. Open with Tiger Woods’ son as caddie
Then on June 8, Russell qualified for the U.S. Open on his 38th hole of the day via playoff. His caddie that day — Charlie Woods, Tiger’s son who is, like Russell, committed to play for Florida State.
MAJOR MILES RUSSELL 👏🇺🇸
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 9, 2026
The 17-year-old is @USOpenGolf bound for the first time after 38 holes on Golf's Longest Day alongside caddy Charlie Woods pic.twitter.com/kCA75CuBjd
Russell went with a little more experience on his bag this week: his coach, Ramon Bescansa, who caddied for Russell Knox the last time Shinnecock hosted in 2018.
Russell could become the second-youngest man since World War II to make a U.S. Open cut after Beau Hossler, who was a younger 17 in 2012.
He has already picked up a few things from the pros.
“How boring they play,” he said. “You watch them play, and you’re, like, man, this guy plays pretty boring, and at the end of the round, you’re seeing the score, and he shoots like 65. You’re like, I did not see you shooting 65 out there, but it’s just so kind of ho-hum and a lot of fairways, greens.”
The 17-year-old said it hasn’t hit him that he’s already living out what he wants to do for his adult life. He loves golf because of the game’s challenge.
There are few, if any, greater challenges than a U.S. Open at Shinnecock.
“It’s going to be a good test,” he said. “I think not overdoing it in the first few days even though you’re here at a major and you’re really excited, because this is what you worked for and dreamed for.”
