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.
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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.
