Miles Russell Survives Scare in U.S. Junior Amateur First Round
Miles Russell, the No. 1-ranked junior golfer in the world, nearly saw his U.S. Junior Amateur hopes end Wednesday before mounting a dramatic comeback at Trinity Forest in Dallas.
The 16-year-old from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, who sits at No. 18 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, found himself 2 down with three holes to play against Jackson Ormond of Webster, New York. Russell, a recent Florida State commit for 2027, rallied with a birdie at the par-5 16th before draining a nearly 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to force extra holes.
Two holes later, Russell completed the comeback to advance to Thursday’s Round of 32.
Ormond, who’s committed to Florida for 2026, had carried momentum from stroke play where his clutch birdie on his second-to-last hole Tuesday evening moved the cut line and eliminated the need for a playoff—the first time since 2008 that’s happened at this championship.
Russell will next face Lucas Latimer, an incoming freshman at Division III Mary Hardin-Baylor. Latimer is one of nine Texans in the match play bracket, a significant number considering the Lone Star State has produced eight of the last 25 U.S. Junior champions, including Jordan Spieth (twice), Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris.
Medalist Falls, Defending Champ Ousted
Stroke play medalist Mason Howell, a Georgia commit, fell 1 up to Henry Guan, a reclassified 2025 Oklahoma State signee from Texas. No medalist has won the U.S. Junior since Matthew Rosenfeld (another Texan) accomplished the feat in 2000.
Defending champion Trevor Gutschewski, an incoming Florida freshman, also made an early exit, losing 3 and 1 to 15-year-old Chase Bauer from Gotha, Florida. Bauer, a 2028 recruit, has already shown his potential by winning a Florida Junior Tour major at the Gators’ home course back in January.
Luke Colton, a Vanderbilt commit ranked 25th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, built an early 3-up lead through three holes before Jace Benson fought back to square the match after 13. Colton ultimately prevailed 2 up and will face fellow Texan Shiv Parmar, a Texas A&M signee, in the Round of 32.
Tyler Watts, the third top-50 amateur in the field, dominated his opening match against Indonesia’s Rayhan Abdul Latief (No. 118 in WAGR) with an 8-and-7 victory. Watts, a Tennessee commit for 2026 and last year’s runner-up to Gutschewski, continues his impressive summer that’s included a record-breaking win at the Sunnehanna Amateur, a top-10 at the Northeast Amateur, and a runner-up finish at the North and South Amateur.
More than half of Wednesday’s 32 matches were still in progress at the time of this report. Check back for updates…
