SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — As Miles Russell's putt neared the hole on the ninth green, Padraig Harrington crouched down for a closer look at the way the ball broke.
Even one of golf's elder statesmen and a three-time major champion could learn something from the way the 17-year-old played Thursday in the first round of the U.S. Open.
Russell rarely looked like a rookie while shooting a 2-over 72 that left him five shots ahead of his 54-year-old playing
partner.
“He played lovely, 2-over par was the worst he could’ve shot,” Harrington said. “He hit it dead straight all day, didn’t really have himself in too much trouble at all. And then, you know, probably could have been a couple better.”
Russell is a Florida State-bound amateur who was making his U.S. Open debut. He is so young that he said this week he couldn't even remember if he watched when Shinnecock Hills last hosted the U.S. Open in 2018.
The left-hander has a thin build and could probably be mistaken for closer to 12 from far away. Harrington, with some grey hair showing from beneath his blue hat, looks every bit the age of someone who qualified for this event by winning the U.S. Senior Open championship last year.
So Russell wasn't surprised to hear that spectators were frequently asking each other how old he was.
“That was the first time I’ve played with somebody maybe that much older than me,” Russell said. “Usually I’m playing Korn Ferry events, so they’re not too much older, maybe a couple years.”
Harrington won his first major title at the British Open in 2007, then repeated and added the PGA Championship in 2008, a few months before Russell was born.
Harrington was a fair amateur himself. The native of Ireland played on three straight Walker Cup teams for Great Britain & Ireland, including one that beat a U.S. squad featuring Tiger Woods in 1995.
But he wasn't sure his game was as developed as Russell's is now.
“I can’t remember what I was doing when I was 17 years of age,” Harrington said. “But yeah, I’m sure it’s all ahead of him.”
Russell, ranked No. 1 in the American Junior Golf Association and No. 7 among all amateurs in the world, earned his spot in the U.S. Open through a 36-hole qualifier — where Charlie Woods, his future college teammate and Tiger's son, was his caddie.
He quickly was ahead of Harrington, who bogeyed six of the final seven holes on the front. Harrington said there wasn't much talk between them, even when they stood just a few feet from each other in the 10th fairway after both hit their tee shots 307 yards. He said the lack of conservation wasn't because of the age difference, but rather because the conditions made it tough to hear anything.
“It was very windy out there. Your head's down, getting your work done,” Harrington said. “There wasn’t a great deal of chat. A lot of good shots for him, as I said, but not a great deal of chat.”
Still, there was enough interaction that Russell was able to learn something from the owner of 43 worldwide victories.
“It’s always good to play with a guy like that and he’s done really well for himself,” Russell said. “He’s played a lot of good golf. So I mean, anything you can pick up from them, whether it’s just the way they act, or the way they walk, or the way they interact with people.”
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