Warchant Olympic Sports
FSU commit Miles Russell qualifies for U.S. Open with Charlie Woods on the bag
Miles Russell, a class of 2027 Florida State golf commit, qualified for the 2026 U.S. Open at Ballenisles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens on Monday.
Russell shot six under across 36 holes on what is dubbed “The Longest Day in Golf.” And he wasn’t done there; the 17 year-old needed to navigate a playoff to secure the fourth and final spot in his sectional qualifier.
The Jacksonville product reached the 583-yard, Par 5 17th hole — his second playoff hole — in two shots and carded a birdie to punch his ticket to his first major championship. He beat multiple tour pros along the way including Matt Kuchar, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Luke Clanton.
Russell will become one of the ten youngest players to ever tee it up in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock. Andy Zhang was the youngest in 2012 at just 14 years old.
What made his victory at the Palm Beach Gardens final qualifying site is Russell also got to do it with a future teammate of his: Charlie Woods.
Woods, the son of golfing legend Tiger Woods, is also committed to Florida State and in the same class as Russell. He caddied for his good friend in the 36-hole event.
In order to make the playoff, Russell had to excel in the second round, where he shot a 67. In the first round, he was four-under par through 17, but a triple bogey on 18 dropped him to a one-under 71, making the path to qualify that much more difficult.
Other Seminoles who participated in qualifying but were unable to move on were Luke Clanton, Jack Bigham, Cristobal del Solar and Chase Seiffert.
Warchant’s Tom Lang contributed to this story.
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