Amateur Miles Russell of the United States watches a shot on the third hole during the first round of the 126th U.S. OPEN at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 18, 2026 in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) (Cliff Hawkins, 2026 Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Miles Russell made it through his first round at the U.S. Open still very much in the mix.
The 17-year-old Jacksonville Beach resident carded a 2-over 74 in his first round of his first major golf championship on Thursday at Shinnecock Hills. Russell is one of the 20 amateur golfers in the event, a record for the U.S. Open.
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Russell said last week that the key to success at the challenging Shinnecock Hills was boring golf; hitting the fairways and keeping the ball in the mix for pars and the ability to scratch out birdies.
Russell managed just one birdie on Thursday, a 9 1/2 -foot putt on No. 6 that was set up by one of his best approaches of the day. He wasn’t as strong on the greens as he needed to be. Russell two-putted from 23 feet on No. 4 for a bogey and two-putted on the par-3 No. 7 hole from 12 feet.
Russell played the back nine at 1 over.
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