The nation’s top two junior golfers have earned the right to play in the 2026 U.S. Open.
Royal Palm Beach’s Giuseppe Puebla and Jacksonville Beach’s Miles Russell won bids on “Golf’s Longest Day” at the Florida qualifier on Monday, June 8 at BallenIsles Country Club (East) in Palm Beach Gardens.
Puebla shot 7-under across two rounds to finish tied for first while Russell, with Tiger Woods’ son Charlie as his caddy, advanced in a 3-for-2 sudden death playoff.
Russell, a Florida State commit, and Puebla, a University of Florida commit, are currently ranked No. 1 and 2 respectively in the American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex rankings.
The junior duo outlasted PGA Tour golfers like Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Luke Clanton, Matt Kuchar and Matthieu Pavon, who have won a combined 35 professional events in their careers.
Ben Silverman and Ryder Cowan also qualified in the event.
The 2026 U.S. Open will be held June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York.
The Florida qualifier was chock full of Palm Beach County golfers. North Palm Beach’s Wylie Inman and Boca Raton’s Oscar Crowe, recent varsity golf standouts, were also in the field.
How it happened
Russell led the qualifier through his first 17 holes until he fell back due to a triple bogey on No. 18.
Meanwhile, Puebla appeared to be in trouble early in the day after three consecutive bogeys. He rallied, however, with five birdies in the final six holes of his opening round.
Puebla continued to push lower until he took the lead with five birdies and a lone bogey on his second round of the day. Russell surged similarly, carding seven birdies to move into a solo lead at 8-under.
However, a double bogey on his penultimate hole forced Russell into a 3-for-2 playoff with fellow amateur Ryder Cowan and Vero Beach’s Tyler Collett.
Cowan took par on the first playoff hole to grab the first qualifier spot. On the second playoff hole, Collett found water while Russell birdied to snag the final bid.
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at ejwallace@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How Giuseppe Puebla, Miles Russell qualified for the 2026 U.S. Open
Reporting by Eric J. Wallace, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Eric J. Wallace, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
