SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — As Miles Russell’s putt neared the hole on the ninth green, Padraig Harrington crouched down for a closer look at the way the ball broke.Even one of golf’s elder statesmen and a three-time major champion could learn something from the way the 17-year-old played Thursday in the first round of the U.S. Open.Russell rarely looked like a rookie while shooting a 2-over 72 that left him five shots ahead of his 54-year-old playing partner.“He played lovely, 2-over par was the worst he could’ve shot,” Harrington said. “He hit it dead straight all day, didn’t really have himself in too much trouble at all. And then, you know, probably could have been a couple better.”Russell is a Florida State-bound amateur who was making his U.S. Open debut. He is so young that he said this week he couldn’t even remember if he watched when Shinnecock Hills last hosted the U.S. Open in 2018.
The left-hander has a thin build and could probably be mistaken for closer to 12 from far away. Harrington, with some grey hair showing from beneath his blue hat, looks every bit the age of someone who qualified for this event by winning the U.S. Senior Open championship last year.
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