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06/20 15:51 CDT Amateur stars Russell and Koivun play together in the US Open's
'future of golf' pairing
Amateur stars Russell and Koivun play together in the US Open's 'future of
golf' pairing
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Sports Writer
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) --- Miles Russell had a long walk to his ball at the end
of a long U.S. Open round with Jackson Koivun on Saturday after smashing his
tee shot 407 yards on the 18th hole.
"Not bad, not bad," Russell said afterward with a smile. "I hit that one pretty
good."
Imagine what he might be able to do when he's all grown up.
The 17-year-old Russell and 21-year-old Koivun were paired together in the
third round, a grouping that was being referred to during TV coverage as the
future of golf.
Already so accomplished before they are even professionals --- Russell hasn't
even started college yet --- both players understand why such expectations have
been placed on them.
"I mean, I'm trying not to think about that," Koivun said. "Just taking it one
day at a time and let my golf game do the talking, but those are great
compliments."
Both players shot 4-over-par 74, dropping to 7 over for the tournament. Those
scores weren't too bad on a difficult day at windy Shinnecock Hills for any
golfer, let alone two that were playing on the weekend for the first time in a
major championship.
It's expected to be the first of many times for both.
Koivun is about to turn pro after a dominant college career in which he led
Auburn to two national championships in three seasons, becoming the first
freshman since Justin Thomas in 2012 to win the Haskins Award, given to the
nation's top collegiate golfer. He won the Southeastern Conference individual
title all three years and has been the world's top-ranked amateur.
Russell is now the next big thing. The left-hander is ranked No. 1 in the
American Junior Golf Association and No. 7 among all amateurs in the world. He
is headed to Florida State and will be a teammate with Charlie Woods, Tiger
Woods' son, who carried Russell's bag when he earned his spot in the U.S. Open
through a 36-hole qualifier.
"He's been been in the game for a while and he's just such a good player,"
Koivun said.
The players didn't know each other well. Russell, who played with 54-year-old
Padraig Harrington in the first two rounds, took advantage of a chance to be
with someone closer to his age to get some advice about school.
Like Koivun, he tried to downplay the "future of golf" hype around them.
"I don't know, that's kind of crazy," Russell said. "I mean, I think the main
thing is just keep enjoying it, because if you're not enjoying it, you may not
have much of a future in it. So, I think we just keep doing what we're doing,
and see where it takes us.
"Golf is a very difficult sport," he added. "One day you have it and the next
day it's gone, so I think you just have to kind of block it out and just keep
doing what you're doing, and hopefully one day that's true."
Still, he could tell there was an interest in them, even though they were out
early in the morning, long before anyone near the top of the leaderboard.
"At the beginning, we had some good crowds out there," Russell said. "I think
if we might have played a little better, they might have stuck around a little
longer, but it was cool."
Koivun and Russell were two of the five amateurs who made the cut, a group that
was led by 21-year-old Ryder Cowan. Cowan, who will be a senior at Oklahoma,
was tied for 11th after 36 holes.
So perhaps the future of golf goes beyond Koivun and Russell.
"Yeah, I mean, amateur golf is in a great spot right now," Koivun said. "The
college kids are definitely showing off, showing off how good they are, and for
five of us to make it through, it's quite impressive."
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
