'Who's the little kid on the range?' That would be 15-year-old Miles Russell of Jax Beach

Miles Russell has made national news on CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC and the Washington Post.

Every internationally known golf media outlet wrote about every round the Jacksonville Beach native played in last week's Korn Ferry Tour LECOM Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch, when he became the youngest player to make the cut on the PGA Tour's Pathway Tour, at the age of 15.

Finishing with a flourish: Miles Russell caps memorable week with 66 at LECOM Suncoast Classic

"Simply unheard of," said national golf writer Dan Rapaport.

Phil Mickelson weighed in on X, one left-hander to another, in his praise for Russell's performance.

As an indication of the viral nature of Russell's weekend on social media, a video of two of his birdies on Sunday posted by the Korn Ferry Tour had nearly 150,000 views by Monday, and a chart of his stock yardages with each club had more than 112,000 views.

Mickelson's shout-out to Russell had nearly 350,000 views by Monday.

According to Conductor, an enterprise SEO and content marketing platform that tracks keywords on social media, mentions of Russell on social media increased 51 times from the day of the first round of the LECOM Open to the final round.

And now Russell is going to play two — at the Texas Rangers Golf Club in Arlington, Texas, for the Korn Ferry Tour's Veritex Bank Championship, which begins on Thursday.

Russell gets another start with a tie for 20th

While Russell got into the field at the LECOM Classic through a sponsor invitation, he earned his way in this week by tying for 20th at the Lakewood National Commander Course. Russell birdied seven of 10 holes at one point, including four of five, and with a 66 moved to a tie for 48th at the start of the day to a tie for 20th.

The Korn Ferry Tour gives spots in the next event to anyone who finishes among the top-25, if not otherwise eligible. Russell shot four under-par rounds and finished at 14-under 270.

Among the players Russell beat last week were past PGA Tour winners Chad Campbell, Fabian Gomez and Kevin Stadler, and PGA Tour veterans Spencer Levin, Tag Ridings, Doc Redman and Sam Saunders.

"It was an awesome week. It was a blast," Russell said during his post-round interview session on Sunday. "Especially for my first one. You may get a couple weird looks, like, 'Who's the little kid on the range?' But, you know, everybody was so nice and so helpful with everything."

Russell said he's trying to soak in the experience.

"I just try to kind of go with flow and take it as it comes to me," he said. "I'm trying to just stay cool. I was able to hit some good shots in the right moments."

Russell, who has been modest in the past year when his game has taken off to unexpected heights, still said he gained confidence from his experience in a high-level professional event.

"When I play well, I think I can compete with some of the better pros," he said. "But this week I played well and I think it kind of showed it a little bit. But good play is always good, and definitely confidence-boosting to finish where we're going to finish today."

Miles Russell has had a whirlwind eight months

Since Augusta of 2023, Russell has become the youngest to win the Junior Players (and the first resident of the First Coast), won the Junior PGA by seven shots, played in the Junior Ryder Cup and became the youngest to win the AJGA Player of the Year Award.

He leads the American Junior Presidents Cup points list and is one of three Florida players on the first United States Golf Association Junior National team.

Russell has given no indication he intends to turn professional at his young age. He has exemptions to the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior and may still have other aspirations in amateur golf such as playing on the Walker Cup.

But he is getting at least one PGA Tour: the AJGA announced on Monday that Russell has received an exemption to play in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship Nov. 14-17, part of the Tour's FedEx Cup Fall schedule. The tournament will give the AJGA Player of the Year a spot in the tournament going forward.

“I am honored to be receiving an exemption into the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship," Russell said in a statement. "I have dreamt of playing on the PGA Tour my entire life and to have that dream coming to fruition later this year is a feeling that I cannot describe. I am grateful to the tournament and the AJGA for their partnership that is allowing me this incredible opportunity.”

Russell attempted to Monday qualify for the Tour's Puerto Rico Open in March and shot 67. He lost in a four-for-one playoff for the final spot.

Russell's pro opportunities come with retrictions

He cannot be a full PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour member until he is 18 years old. Russell can play through sponsor invitations, Monday qualifiers and categories such as a top 25 on the Korn Ferry Tour and a top 10 on the PGA Tour for subsequent events, but is capped at 12 starts per year, whether he turns pro or remains an amateur.

There is no age restriction on turning professional and accepting prize money. He also can play in major championships. None have an age requirement.

Russell is being home-schooled and is permitted to accept NIL opportunities without jeopardizing his amateur status.

For now, Russell is enjoying the ride. He also said he might not be the last teen-age prodigy in golf.

"It's a cool record to break," he said. "I don't know how much longer ... people are getting so good, so young. It could hold out for a week, you never know, but it's pretty cool right now."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 15-year-old Miles Russell enters Korn Ferry Tour event in Texas