Miles Russell continues dominating the Florida Junior Tour with his fourth 2023 victory
Miles Russell won another Florida Junior Tour event to continue his dominance of the Florida State Golf Association's statewide organization.
Russell shot a bogey-free 67 last week at the Sugar Mill Golf Club in New Smyrna Beach to win the 16-18 Sugar Mill Open at 9-under-par 135, four shots ahead of Darren Zhou of Bradenton.
Russell, a Jacksonville Beach resident and one of six First Coast players entered in this week’s Junior Players Championship, had a 68 in the first round that included a double-bogey at the 15th hole, followed by back-to-back birdies.
It was Russell’s fourth FJT victory in nine starts this season. He has also won two American Junior Golf Association events and the Junior PGA, which got him a spot on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team that will play Europe later this month before the Ryder Cup Matches.
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Counting his 16 AJGA, FJT and Junior PGA starts, Russell has won seven times and finished among the top-five 12 times and the top-10 14 times.
Since his first FJT season in 2019, across three age groups, Russell has won 13 tournaments and posted 38 top-10 finishes in 41 starts. He’s posted 11 runnerup finishes, 28 top-threes and 34 top-fives. He’s finished among the top-10 in 92.7 percent of his FJT starts and among the top-five in 82.9 percent.
Andrew Morgan of Jacksonville shot 146 to tie for ninth at Sugar Mill.
In the girls division, Cambree Hodge of Fleming Island tied for second at 10-over 154, four shots behind winner Angela Wang of Orlando. Emma Wells of Jacksonville (157) finished alone in fifth.
Tough scoring at St. Johns
The recently renovated St. Johns Golf Club gave the field for the 13-15 Florida Junior Tour St. Johns Open all it could handle.
William Lisle of Brandenton shot 2-over 144 to win the boys' division and Wendy Xizhao Wei of Winderemere posted a 70 in the second round to win the girls' division at 2-over, outlasting Sofia Rivera of St. Augustine with a birdie on the third playoff hole.
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Jonah Nacional of St. Augustine led area players in the boys division with a tie third at 6-over 148. Parker Melin of Ponte Vedra Beach (151) tied for fifth, Charlie Hipp of St. Johns (152) tie for seventh and Jaspreet Kondal of St. Augustine (153) tied for ninth.
Rivera, who was tied for the 18th-hole lead with Sahana Chokshi of Jacksonville, shot 71 in the final round. Chokshi finished third at 6-over.
Danielle Daily of St. Augustine (153) tied for fourth and Alexia Iordanov of St. Augustine (154) tied for sixth.
Robards leads Episcopal
The Episcopal boys golf team made it look easy on a tough course against a strong field.
Led by a 6-under 66 by Henry Robards, the Eagles won the Titan Invitational at the Hammock Beach Golf Club in Palm Coast at 3-under 285, eight shots ahead of Nease and Lakewood Ranch.
Cam Goldknopf of Episcoal and Chase McBride of Nease tied for third at 2-under 70.
A California albatross
Brad Rollinson of Ponte Vedra Beach might not have made the cut for match play at the U.S. Senior Amateur last week but he had the best shot of anyone’s practice round.
Rollinson made albatross at the par-5 fourth of the Martis Camp Club during a practice round, using a driver off the tee and holing a 5-wood at the 546 yard hole.
Rollinson, who recently got his amateur status back, had mixed success on the hole during the two stroke-play qualifying rounds. He double-bogeyed it in the first round but came back with a birdie in the second round. He shot 14-over 160, three shots behind the number required to go to match play.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Miles Russell captures his fourth 2023 FJT victory, and 13th overall
