Miles Russell wins twice to reach Western Amateur semifinals

The 17-year-old Jacksonville Beach native has reached the semifinals of the 124th Western Amateur at the Beverly Country Club in Chicago after winning two matches on July 31. Russell defeated Boston Bracken of St. George, Utah, 3 and 2 in the morning match and Tyler Watts of Huntsville, Ala., 3 and 1 in the afternoon.

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Russell will face Jay Leng of San Diego at 9 a.m. on Aug. 1, while Logan Reilly of Lovettsville, Va., will play Michael Riebe of Encinitas, Calif., in the other semifinal, starting at 9:12 a.m. Leng, a junior at Stanford, beat USC junior Jaden Dumdumaya 5 and 3. Reilly beat Auburn teammate Josiah Gilbert and Riebe topped Kayun Mudadana of Australia, both by 4 and 3 scores.

Russell took a 2-up lead over Watts, an incoming Tennessee freshman, by winning the fourth and seventh holes, saw his lead drop to 1-up twice when Watts birdied Nos. 10 and 1, but won the 11th and 13th holes with birdies.

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Russell then made a huge par save at No. 15, pitching from deep rough from behind the green and draining a 15-foot putt for par to halve the hole. He clinched the match with a birdie at No. 17.

It was also the second time in less than a week that Russell played another left-hander in a match-play showdown. Noach Maclauchlan, a lefty, beat Russell in the championship match of the U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley in Bethlehem, Pa.

Russell and Leng have a bit of a past in match play. Leng eliminated Russell in the quarterfinals of the 2024 U.S. Junior with a 1-up victory at Oakland Hills in Detroit, after Russell rallied from three holes down through seven.

In his morning match, Russell eagled the par-5 second hole, won the par-5 seventh with a par, then closed out Bracken with birdies at the par-4 14th and 16th holes.

Bracken, an Arizona State sophomore, survived a four-for-three playoff the night before after those players were tied for the last three of 16 match-play spots. The odd player out was Luke Poulter, a University of Florida junior.

Another Gator player, sophomore Zach Swanwick, qualified for match play but lost 2 and 1 in the first round to Vanderbilt freshman Michael Riebe.

Russell earned the top seed in match play under the rigorous Western Amateur format by shooting 21-under 263 in 72 holes of stroke play — the last 36 holes coming on July 30.

Russell, who will be 18 in November, was only four days older than the youngest player ever to earn medalist honors in the Western Amateur, C.T. Pan, in 2009.

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Russell also posted the third-lowest 72-hole score since the Western Amateur adopted its current format in 1955. He’s also the first in history to be the low medalist in both the Western Amateur and the U.S. Junior Amateur stroke play.

Russell has played 69 holes in two days, and faces a potential two more match-play rounds on Aug. 1 if he wants to win one of the nation’s oldest amateur tournaments. If he reaches the championship match, his workload could reach more than 100 holes in three days.

Russell is trying to add to the tradition of First Coast and South Georgia Western Amateur winners. Past champions have been John Klauk of Ponte Vedra Beach (2002), Bubba Dickerson of Fernandina Beach (2001), Billy Tuten of Palatka (1983) and Steve Melnyk of Brunswick, Ga. (1969).

Other past winners include major champions Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Curtis Strange, Lanny Wadkins, Ben Crenshaw, Hal Sutton and Justin Leonard.

Here are scoring statistics for Miles Russell in the last two weeks at the U.S. Junior Amateur and Western Amateur:

• Stroke play: 27-under for 108 holes, 66.3 scoring average, co-medalist at U.S. Junior, medalist at Western Amateur.

• Match Play: Russell is 7-1 and is 30-under (counting conceded putts) in 137 holes of match play. He has won 43 holes and lost 25.

• With the lead: Russell has held the lead in 74 holes of match play in the two tournaments, and trailed in 29.

Stroke play: 27-under for 108 holes, 66.3 scoring average, co-medalist at U.S. Junior, medalist at Western Amateur.

Match Play: Russell is 7-1 and is 30-under (counting conceded putts) in 137 holes of match play. He has won 43 holes and lost 25.

With the lead: Russell has held the lead in 74 holes of match play in the two tournaments, and trailed in 29.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Miles Russell wins twice to reach Western Amateur semifinals