Phil Mickelson praises “amazing accomplishment" of fellow lefty & 15-year-old golf prodigy Miles Russell

LECOM Suncoast Classic - Round Two
15-year-old golfer Miles Russell (Image via Getty)

Phil Mickelson has nothing but praises for fellow 15-year-old lefty Miles Russell after an impressive performance at his very first Korn Ferry Tour event. The college freshman made his impact on the golf world after making the cut at the LECOM Suncoast Classic.

Being his very first Korn Ferry Tour event, Miles Russell managed to sweep the entire crowd with his performance, carding 68-66. This has made him the youngest golfer to ever make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour. Alongside Guan Tian Liang, he is the only other player to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour or the PGA Tour under the age of 16.

Needless to say, Russell has been receiving a lot of praise, and recently, Phil Mickelson too, expressed his amazement at the young golfer's performance. Posting on Twitter about his performance, Mickelson said:

"Miles Russell, a 15 year old left handed golfer made the cut in this week’s Korn Ferry event. This is an amazing accomplishment. It’s great to see a young lefty playing such incredible golf."

Russell entered the tournament under a sponsor exemption but proved his golfing skills after finishing 26th on the leaderboard after day 2 and making the cut into the weekend. The young golfer also broke Tiger Woods' record of being the youngest winner of the AJGA Boys Junior Player of the Year award.


"I'm kind of speechless": Miles Russell reflects on his Korn Ferry Tour debut

The LECOM Suncoast Classic has been a memorable experience for Miles Russell, and he has expressed nothing but confidence during the tournament. Speaking about his journey during the first two rounds, Russell said, via the PGA Tour:

"I'm kind of speechless. The goal was to make the cut and we made it, so we'll see where the weekend goes. It's a cool record to break. I don't know how much longer ... people are getting so good, so young. It could hold out for a week, you never know, but it's pretty cool right now."

Russell had a bit of a tough start to the third round of LECOM. Despite a round riddled with bogeys, he kept his cool to finish T48 for the day. For the final round, he will tee off at 9:05 a.m. ET alongside KK Limbhasut and Quad Cummins.

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