Friday was supposed to be another long day for Miles Russell. Two more match-play rounds separated the 17-year-old from a Western Amateur title before heavy rain soaked Beverly Country Club, forcing officials to postpone the semifinals. For the first time in nearly two weeks, Russell’s relentless schedule came to a halt, just because the weather had other plans. 

Less than two weeks earlier, Russell had battled through 144 holes to reach the U.S. Junior Amateur final. Three days after finishing runner-up, he was back on the first tee at the Western Amateur, navigating four rounds of qualifying before rolling straight into match play. By the time rain suspended play, he had already logged 249 competitive holes in 12 days, with more still to come. Somewhere in the middle of that grind, Russell made amateur golf history.

There have been only five players in history who have earned medalist honors in both the U.S. Junior Amateur and the Western Amateur. And only one of them has done it in the same year. That happens to be Miles Russell, the 17-year-old phenom, who did so this week. 

On Thursday at the Western Amateur, Russell shot 64-65, finishing at 21-under 263, edging Josiah Gilbert by a single shot to claim medalist honors. Combined with his previous 36-hole scores (67-67), it made for the lowest score in 72 holes of stroke-play qualifying since 1955, according to Golf Digest. Russell, at 17 years, 8 months, and 29 days old, also became the second-youngest medalist in the Western Amateur’s Sweet 16 era, just four days older than C.T. Pan was when Pan earned the honor in 2009. But he also did something that Pan couldn’t.

Russell earned the medalist honors at the U.S. Junior Amateur. According to Golfweek, only four pros have done it before: Sam Horsfield (US 2014, WA 2016), Doug Martin (US 1984, WA 1989), Willie Wood (US 1977-78, WA 1981), and Bob Byman (US 1972, WA 1976). But of course, none of them did it in the same year that Russell did. It’s hardly surprising, considering what he has done in the last two weeks.

Russell’s remarkable stretch began at the U.S. Junior Amateur, where he shared medalist honors before defeating Tyler Mawhinney 2 and 1 in the semifinals. That day alone, he played 30 holes at 14-under. The week ended in heartbreak, though, as the 17-year-old lost 6 and 5 to the 2,047th-ranked Noah Maclauchlan in the 36-hole championship match. Rather than dwelling on the defeat, Russell was back in tournament mode just three days later at the Western Amateur.

At Beverly Country Club, the World Amateur Golf Ranking’s No. 5 player picked up right where he had left off. He defeated Boston Bracken 3 and 2 in the morning before overcoming Walker Cup teammate Tyler Watts 3 and 1 later that day to book his place in the semifinals. His next opponent was set to be Jay Leng, but the weather had other ideas.

According to the Florida Times-Union, torrential rain has rendered Beverly Country Club unplayable. The semifinals were postponed to Sunday, August 2. Miles Russell will tee off at 8 a.m. (EDT).

By the time play was suspended, Russell had already completed 69 holes in just two days at the Western Amateur. If he defeats Leng in the semifinals and advances to the title match, he will cross the 100-hole mark for the tournament alone.

The workload has been relentless, but Russell has shown little sign of slowing down. If anything, his comments after Friday’s victories suggested he was embracing every bit of the challenge.

Miles Russell puts things into perspective after defeating teammate

Miles Russell beat his Walker Cup teammate, Tyler Watts, in the afternoon at the Western Amateur. Russell said, per Jacksonville.com, “You know, it’s tough to play against a buddy, and a teammate here in a few weeks.”

But Russell also said it was a lot of fun to play against Watts, adding, “To be able to play against another great player, it really kind of puts your game to the test.”

And he was paying attention to his game. Russell gained a 2-up lead over Watts after winning the fourth and seventh holes. The lead dropped once Watts birdied the 10th, but Russell kept it going.

“Where I got in trouble, I was able to get out of it and scrape around it toward the end once the weather rolled in,” Russell said following his Friday matches. 

A pivotal par save on the 15th, when he drained a 15-foot putt to halve the hole, helped his case. A birdie on the 17th against Watts sealed the deal. But Russell will need to be careful against Leng, who defeated him in 2024 at Oakland Hills.

The history is already secure. Whether Russell goes on to win the Western Amateur or not, no player before him has claimed medalist honors at both the U.S. Junior Amateur and the Western Amateur in the same year. The only question left is whether there’s enough left in the tank to cap this remarkable run with one more title before turning his attention to September’s Walker Cup at Lahinch.