Miles Russell, Phillip Dunham, Tyler Mawhinney the only Florida players on USGA national team
How good is junior golf on the First Coast?
Consider the inaugural United States Golf Association U.S. National Junior Team unveiled last week with eight boys and 10 girls on the roster.
The First Coast has 37.5 percent of the total number of boys.
It also has 100 percent of the total number of boys from Florida.
That's how good.
Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, Phillip Dunham of Ponte Vedra Beach and Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island made the first national junior team, the cornerstone of the U.S. National Development Program, launched last year to target the nation's top junior players based on six factors: talent identification, access to competition, national teams, athlete resources, player development and relations and athlete financial support.
The juniors represent the first of three national teams to be formed. An amateur team will be announced in 2025 and a young professional team in 2026.
The USGA plans to grow the National Junior Team to 30 boys and 30 girls over the next three years.
“Nearly every other golf country in the world has long enjoyed the benefits of a developmental program and national teams, and the announcement of this team is a major milestone in the USGA’s commitment to the growth of our American athletes and ensuring we remain the global leader in the junior, amateur and professional game," said Chris Zambri, head coach of the U.S. National Development Program, in a statement.
Throughout the 2024 season, the 18 players will participate at camps and compete internationally under the U.S. flag. The team’s first training camp will be held May 8-11 at the Atlanta Athletic Club. The first international friendly match will take place this summer against Australia.
Members of the U.S. National Junior Team will receive year-round coaching and analysis, sports psychology and nutritional guidance in collaboration with the players’ home coaches and support teams.
Russell, 15, was the 2023 American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Boys Player of the Year, beating Tiger Woods' record as the youngest to earn the AJGA's top honor. He was the first resident of the First Coast to win the Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass (also the event's youngest champion), won four AJGA events, added the Junior PGA Championship at Hot Springs (Ark.) Country Club and played for the U.S. in the Junior Ryder Cup.
He is first on the U.S. Junior Presidents Cup points list.
Dunham was the runner-up to Russell in the Junior Players, won four times in 2023 and won the 2024 Sea Pines Junior Heritage in February by seven strokes. He holds the record for the most U.S. Kids Golf World Championships won all-time with six victories and joined Russell on the AJGA All-American first team. He is third on the first Junior Presidents Cup points list
Mawhinney won the 2023 Class 3A boys state championship, leading Fleming Island High School to the first team title in Clay County history. He was the 2023 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Golf as the state’s top high school golfer and capped his 2023 season by winning the AJGA Tournament of Champions in San Antonio, Texas, shooting 65 in the final round to rally from eighth place at the start of the day. He is seventh in U.S. Presidents Cup points.
"I saw that [USGA] list and I got goose bumps," said Jack Aschenbach, president of the North Florida Junior Foundation -- where Russell, Dunham and Mawhinney played junior golf. "It makes us very proud to know those three played on the NFJG Tour and they're representing the First Coast very well wherever they play."
Russell earns character award
The announcement of the USGA Junior National team wasn't the only good news for Russell in the past week.
He tied for sixth at the prestigious Sage Valley Junior Invitational in South Carolina but won another way, being named the tournament's Paul S. Simon Boys Character Award.
Russell tied with Jackson Byrd of St. Simons Island, Ga., at 4-under for 54 holes, seven shots behind winner Giovanni Daniele Binaghi. Dunham (2-over) tied for 19th and Mawhinney (15-over) finished 36th.
Kleinrock-Carter win JAGA Four-Ball
A pair of former First Coast college stars teamed up to win the Jacksonville Area Golf Association's Spring Four-Ball at Marsh Landing.
Matt Kleinrock (Jacksonville University) and Steve Carter (University of North Florida) won a scorecard match to break a three-way tie at 4-under 68, with Adam Krestalude-Sam Ohno and Bryan LaRoche-Matt Saxton tying for second. Mike Smith-Joe Stepnes finished fourth and Nolan Harper-Barton Abstein was fifth, also using a scorecard match to break a tie at 3-under.
Cary Helton-Bob Yates won a scorecard match to win the net division over Davi Houghton-Joe Monahan. Both teams shot 5-under 67.
FSGA results
Tama Caldabaugh of Ponte Vedra Beach and Kim Keyer-Scott of Bonita Springs combined to win the Florida State Golf Association Women's Four-Ball, at the Country Club of Ocala. They shot 71-73--144 to win by three shots over Jacksonville's Therese Quinn and Lin Culver of Palm Coast. ... Jaspreet Kondol of St. Augustine posted a 3-over 147 at the Stoneybook West Golf Club in Winter Garden to win a Florida Junior Tour boys 13-15 division by one shot over Maxwell Morgan of Ponte Vedra Beach and Eddie Gu of Bradenton. Charlie Hipps of St. Johns (149) tied for fourth. ... Jay Huntley of Jacksonville Beach (147) finished second in the boys 11-12 division of the FJT Palm Harbor Open in Palm Coast, one shot behind Niko Gordic-Ronderos of Bradenton. Bennett LeConte of St. Augustine and Jack Cole of Jacksonville (157) tied for ninth. ... Charlie Beard of Jacksonville (163) finished seventh in the boys 9-10 division. ... Lily Wachter of St. Augustine (146) finished third in the girls 11-12 division, two shots behind winner Iris Lee of Orlando.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Junior golf in good hands on First Coast with three on USGA National team
