SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Miles Russell had a long walk to his ball at the end of a long U.S. Open round with Jackson Koivun on Saturday after smashing his tee shot 407 yards on the 18th hole.
“Not bad, not bad,” Russell said afterward with a smile. “I hit that one pretty good.”
Imagine what he might be able to do when he's all grown up.
The 17-year-old Russell and 21-year-old Koivun were paired together in the third round, a grouping that was being referred
to during TV coverage as the future of golf.
Already so accomplished before they are even professionals — Russell hasn't even started college yet — both players understand why such expectations have been placed on them.
“I mean, I’m trying not to think about that,” Koivun said. “Just taking it one day at a time and let my golf game do the talking, but those are great compliments.”
Both players shot 4-over-par 74, dropping to 7 over for the tournament. Those scores weren't too bad on a difficult day at windy Shinnecock Hills for any golfer, let alone two that were playing on the weekend for the first time in a major championship.
It's expected to be the first of many times for both.
Koivun is about to turn pro after a dominant college career in which he led Auburn to two national championships in three seasons, becoming the first freshman since Justin Thomas in 2012 to win the Haskins Award, given to the nation's top collegiate golfer. He won the Southeastern Conference individual title all three years and has been the world's top-ranked amateur.
Russell is now the next big thing. The left-hander is ranked No. 1 in the American Junior Golf Association and No. 7 among all amateurs in the world. He is headed to Florida State and will be a teammate with Charlie Woods, Tiger Woods' son, who carried Russell's bag when he earned his spot in the U.S. Open through a 36-hole qualifier.
“He’s been been in the game for a while and he’s just such a good player,” Koivun said.
The players didn't know each other well. Russell, who played with 54-year-old Padraig Harrington in the first two rounds, took advantage of a chance to be with someone closer to his age to get some advice about school.
Like Koivun, he tried to downplay the “future of golf” hype around them.
“I don’t know, that’s kind of crazy,” Russell said. "I mean, I think the main thing is just keep enjoying it, because if you’re not enjoying it, you may not have much of a future in it. So, I think we just keep doing what we’re doing, and see where it takes us.
“Golf is a very difficult sport," he added. "One day you have it and the next day it’s gone, so I think you just have to kind of block it out and just keep doing what you’re doing, and hopefully one day that’s true.”
Still, he could tell there was an interest in them, even though they were out early in the morning, long before anyone near the top of the leaderboard.
“At the beginning, we had some good crowds out there,” Russell said. “I think if we might have played a little better, they might have stuck around a little longer, but it was cool.”
Koivun and Russell were two of the five amateurs who made the cut, a group that was led by 21-year-old Ryder Cowan. Cowan, who will be a senior at Oklahoma, was tied for 11th after 36 holes.
So perhaps the future of golf goes beyond Koivun and Russell.
“Yeah, I mean, amateur golf is in a great spot right now,” Koivun said. “The college kids are definitely showing off, showing off how good they are, and for five of us to make it through, it’s quite impressive.”
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