Jacksonville Beach resident matched four birdies with four bogeys at Hurstbourne Country Club in Louisville, Ky.
Fore Score Golf Tavern opens second location in Jacksonville, FL
Fore Score Golf Tavern’s second Jacksonville location is now open at 7570 Gate Parkway, Suite 101. Here’s a preview.
Miles Russell was 2-under par with four holes to play on July 10 at the Hurstbourne Country Club in Louisville, Ky., but bogeyed his final two holes to finish with an even-par 70 in the first round of the ISCO Championship, the third PGA Tour start for the 16-year-old Jacksonville Beach resident.
Russell, who was tied for 46th at the time he finished, mixed four birdies and four bogeys and battled trips to the course’s greenside bunkers, getting up and down for par only once in four sand shots.
“The golf course is great … it’s tough,” Russell said in a post-round media availability. “Just got to focus on [Friday], control what I can control, enjoy it, embrace it. I think if you do that you’ll wind up playing well and maybe making the cut, maybe you don’t. But to play on the weekend … [I] haven’t played on the weekend in a [PGA] Tour event. That would be pretty special.”
Russell hit some hero shots. He nearly holed his second shot at the par-4 fifth hole (Russell began his round at No. 10) and tapped in for a birdie from 16 inches away. He saved a 6-foot par putt after blasting out of a greenside trap at the par-3 sixth hole, two-putted for par at the par-5 seventh, but lost both of his shots to par at Nos. 8 and 9.
Russell pulled his tee shot into the left rough at the short par-4 eighth and advanced the ball only 40 yards. His 80-yard third shot landed 33 feet from the hole and he missed the par attempt.
Russell hit the green at the par-3 ninth hole but made his only three-putt of the day, from 30 feet.
He was disappointed at the outcome at No. 8, a 346-yard hole, because he said he had a good strategy.
“Our plan was just to hit kind of a 4-iron, wedge and make an easy par,” he said. “I didn’t hit a very good 4-iron … just kind of shoved it over there to the left, had a terrible lie and kind of hacked it out. Didn’t come out the way we were thinking, just into more tall grass.”
His other birdies were on putts of 9 feet at No. 12, nearly 16 feet at No. 16 and less than 3 feet at No. 2.
Russell is nine shots behind leader Chan Kim (61).
What were Miles Russell’s first-round stats?
Russell hit 7 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens. He needed 30 putts and was 3 of 6 in scrambling (making par after missing greens).
What’s next for Miles Russell?
He will play in the second round on July 11, teeing off at 1:49 p.m.