It's Motor City time for Miles.
Miles Russell, the 15-year-old Jacksonville Beach golf prodigy, will add to his long list of accomplishments at a very young age when he plays in the PGA Tour's Rocket Mortgage Classic this week at the Detroit Golf Club. Russell received a sponsor invitation for his first PGA Tour start and also will play the Tour's Butterfield Bermuda Open in November, a perk for winning the AJGA's Player of the Year award for 2023.
"This has always been the goal, to play at the highest level," Russell said in a news conference on Wednesday at the Detroit Golf Club, one of Donald Ross' classic designs. "Kind of happened a little faster than I was thinking it might."
Russell will tee off No. 10 at 2:11 p.m. on Thursday and at No. 1 at 8:57 a.m. on Friday. His playing partners will be PGA Tour members Pierceson Coody and Rico Hoey.
Coody, the twin brother of Parker Coody (also in the field) has made seven of 15 cuts this season and tied for fifth last month at the Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth. Hoey, a native of the Philippines, has made six of 17 cuts, and also had his best finish in Texas with a tie for 14th at the Valero Texas Open.
Russell has played two Korn Ferry Tour events this season. He got a sponsor invitation for the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch and became the youngest player to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour, and then posted a tie for 20th, which earned a spot the following week in the Veritex Bank Championship near Dallas.
Russell missed the cut in that event but shot 4-under for two rounds. Counting a 67 in a Monday qualifier for the PGA Tour's event in Puerto Rico (Russell lost in a four-for-one playoff for the fourth qualifying spot) he has broken par in all seven of his rounds in professional tournaments and shot in the 60s in five of the seven. His scoring average in pro events is 67.85.
Russell called his experiences in professional events thus far, "a complete blast."
"Just a rollercoaster ... a rollercoaster of just fun," he said.
PGA Tour: Rickie Fowler broke a dry spell
Event: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Detroit Golf Club.
What's the purse?$9.2 million ($1,656,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner.
Who won last year?Rickie Fowler broke a drought of more than four years since his previous victory when he birdied the 72nd hole to join Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin in a playoff, then birdied the hole again on the first hole of sudden death. Fowler shot 64-68 on the weekend.
How to watch on TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m.); CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).
Area players entered: Tyson Alexander, Bud Cauley Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Nico Echavarria, Ben Griffin, Lanto Griffin, Zach Johnson, Patton Kizzire, Philip Knowles, Keith Mitchell, Andrew Novak, Raul Pereda, Miles Russell, Sam Ryder, Greyson Sigg, Davis Thompson, Michael Thompson, Tim Wilkinson, Carl Yuan.
Notable: With the final Signature Event in the rearview mirror and the Scottish and British Open coming next month, the next two events will be light in star power. Fowler, Tom Kim, Will Zalatoris and Gary Woodland headline this week’s field.
LPGA Tour: Team event has purse, field bumps
Event: Dow Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Midland (Mich.) Country Club.
What's the purse?$3 million ($450,000 for the winning team).
Who won last year? Elizabeth Szokol and Cheyenne Knight defeated Kelly Tan and Matilda Castren by one shot at 26-under.
How to watch on TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.; Saturday, 5-7 p.m.); Peaco*ck (Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.); CBS (Sunday, 1-3 p.m.).
Area players entered: Auston Kim (playing with Grace Kim),Amelia Lewis (playing with Paula Reto).
Notable:The team event rotates each day between four-ball and foursomes (alternate shot). The purse has been bumped by $300,000 and the field increased from 64 teams to 72 teams. ... Lewis and Reto tied for ninth last year and for 15th in 2022.
PGA Tour Champions:Returning to the birthplace of the USGA
Event: U.S. Senior Open, Thursday-Sunday, Newport (R.I.) Country Club.
What's the purse?The final amount will be released later this week. It was $4 million last year, with the winner earning $720,000.
Who won last year? Bernard Langer lost five shots of a seven-shot lead on the back nine but held on to beat Steve Stricker at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis. Langer broke the PGA Tour Champions record for career victories with his 47th, pulling away from a tie with Hale Irwin.
How to watch on TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 12-3 p.m.; Saturday, 3-5 p.m.; Sunday, 3:30-5:30 p.m.); Peaco*ck (Thursday-Saturday, 3-5 p.m.; Sunday, 3:30-5:30 p.m.).
Area players entered: Fred Funk, Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh.
Notable:The tournament is being played at one of the five original member clubs of the United States Golf Association. The Newport Country Club opened in 1893 and hosted the first U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in 1895. ... The tournament was to have been at Newport Beach in 2020 but was canceled due to the pandemic.
Korn Ferry Tour:Tour-bound Harry Higgs leads the field
Event: Memorial Health Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Panther Creek Country Club, Springfield, Ill.
What's the purse? $1 million ($180,000 to the winner).
Who won last year? Paul Barjon shot 66-65 on the weekend and beat Jackson Suber by one shot.
How to watch on TV: The tournament is not being televised.
Area players entered: Dawson Armstrong, Chris Baker, Fred Biondi, Chandler Blanchet, Cody Blick, Dillon Board, Nick Gabrelcik, Joey Garber, Peter Knade, Russell Knox, Rick Lamb, Doc Redman, Julian Suri, Danny Walker, Thomas Walsh, Jared Wolfe.
Notable:The field is led by two-time 2024 winner Harry Higgs, who has enough points to clinch his PGA Tour card for 2025.
What are the (golf) odds?
Rocket Mortgage Classic: According to Hard Rock Bet, Tom Kim is the favorite at +1300, followed by Cameron Young at +1400, Min Woo Lee at +1750 and Akshay Bhatia at +2000. Fowler Is +4000. Hard Rock Bet did not post odds for Miles Russell.
When does LIV Golf play next?
The LIV Golf League will play on July 12-14 at the Valderrama Golf Club in Spain. Talor Gooch won his third tournament of the season when he finished birdie-birdie to beat Bryson DeChambeau.
