After a previous attempt to team up in May, Miles Russell and Paul Tesori will walk the fairways together at the Hurstbourne Country Club in Louisville, Ky., at the PGA Tour’s ISCO Championship July 9-12.
Tesori, a St. Augustine native and a veteran caddie who has won with Webb Simpson, Vijay Singh, Sean O’Hair and Jerry Kelly, and also worked for Cameron Young, Tom Kim, Chris Couch and Adam Schenk, will carry the bag for Russell, a 17-year-old from Jacksonville Beach who is appearing in his 14th professional event as an amateur in the past three years.
The two had planned to connect at the Korn Ferry Tour’s UNC Health Championship in May, but Simpson got the chance to play in the Truist Championship, the Tour’s signature event in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C. Simpson is taking this week off and Tesori will be lugging Russell’s clubs as he goes for a fifth made cut in his last six pro starts.
“I love to work. I love what I do. I love mentoring,” Tesori told Golfweek earlier this week. “I just kind of love that role.”
Russell is coming off his tie for 39th in the U.S. Open, where he made the cut with his swing coach and usual caddie Ramon Bescansa.
In addition to posting an even-par round on Sunday and leaving Shinnecock Hills as one of only four players who did not make a double bogey all week, Russell provided one of the golf season’s most heartwarming stories when he had Bescansa pull his father Joe from the rope line to carry his bag on the final hole.
Tesori said Bescansa told him caddying for Russell wouldn’t involve a lot of babysitting on tough shots.
“Ramon said he doesn’t need a lot, that he’s got a 27-year-old head on his body,” Tesori told Golfweek. “Which is just kind of rare to see for 17 years old, and we know he’s special. We know how good he is, but it’s also that mentality, the way he carries himself that no moment seems to be too big,” Tesori said.
Miles Russell, Jackson Koivun together again
Russell and Jackson Koivun, who led Auburn to two national championships, played together on the weekend rounds of the U.S. Open June 20-21 at Shinnecock Hills. Koivun was playing in his final tournament as an amateur and turned pro last week at the John Deere Classic.
They’re grouped again, in the first two rounds of the ISCO Championship.
Russell, who has climbed to No. 6 on the World Amateur Ranking, and Koivun, who was ranked first during his final week as an amateur at Shinnecock, will play with Ben James in the first two rounds at Hurstbourne, teeing off No. 1 at 1:39 p.m, in the first round on July 9 and 8:39 a.m., off No. 10 in the second round on July 10.
The group also has two players who have combined to win three of the last five Junior Players Championships. Russell won in 2023 and last year and James won in 2021.
Russell is playing in his seventh PGA Tour event. He made his first two cuts on the Tour this year, tying for 50th in the Puerto Rico Open before the U.S. Open. His scoring average is 72.00 for 16 rounds.
Russell has played seven Korn Ferry Tour events, making three cuts. His scoring average is 69.75 for 20 rounds.
Russell is averaging 70.75 as a professional on both tours combined.
Players Championship spot available
It’s a nice perk for winning one of the five senior majors, but the last two winners of the Kaulig Companies Championship have passed on an exemption into the following year’s Players Championship.
The winner of the tournament, which changes title sponsorship after this week and will be renamed the Hoag Senior Players Championship when it moves from the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, to Newport Beach (Calif.) Country Club in 2027, has been granted a berth in The Players field the following year since 2007.
The custom follows suit with organizations that run three other senior majors (U.S. Senior Open, Senior PGA, Senior British Open) in giving spots to winners in their major championships, the U.S. Open, PGA and Open.
Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ernie Els, who won the last two Kaulig Companies Championships, chose not to compete in The Players. Before that, 11 of the previous 12 Senior Players winners took the chance to play the Stadium Course, which doesn’t reward the longest hitters and therefore lends itself to a Champions Tour winner likely thinking he can compete.
But in actuality, none have. Of the 13 who competed in The Players off a Senior Players victory, only two made the cut: Mark O’Meara in 2010 and Jerry Kelly in 2022. O’Meara finished solo 74th and Kelly tied for 54th.
In addition to Jimenez and Els, the others who won a Senior Players and didn’t enter The Players the following year were Loren Roberts (2008), D.A. Weibring (2009), Fred Couples (2011) and Retief Goosen (2019).
Brooks Koepka makes milestone start
Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka is making his 200th PGA Tour start this week at the Genesis Scottish Open, at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland. It’s his first start in the tournament, and he’s looking for his first top 10 finish since a tie for ninth at his hometown event, the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens.
Kopeka has had mixed success in Scotland. He’s made three of five cuts in British Open venues in Scotland, with a tie for 10th at St. Andrews in 2015.
Koepka is eligible for the Open next week at Royal Birkdale off his 2023 PGA Championship.
PGA Tour
Event: Genesis Scottish Open, July 9-12, The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland.
Purse: $9 million ($1,620,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner.
Defending champion: Chris Gotterup.
TV: Golf Channel (July 9-10, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; July 11-12, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.); CBS (July 11-12, 12-3 p.m.)
Area players: Ludvig Aberg, Michael Brennan, Bud Cauley, Harris English, Brian Harman, Billy Horschel, Aaron Rai, Michael Thorbjornssen, Karl Vilips.
Event: ISCO Championship, July 9-12, Hurstbourne Country Club, Louisville, Kyt.
Purse: $4 million ($720,000 and 300 FedEx Cup points to the winner.
Defending champion: William Mouw.
TV: Golf Channel (July 9-12, 4-7 p.m.).
Area players: Chandler Blanchet, Jonathan Byrd, Will Gordon, Lanto Griffin, Patton Kizzire, Ben Kohles, Paul Peterson, Miles Russell, Davis Thompson, Alejandro Tosti, Kris Ventura, Danny Walker, Jared Wolfe.
LPGA
Event: Amundi Evian Championship, July 9-12, Evian Resort Golf Club, Evian-les-Bains, France.
Purse: $9.1 million ($1,365,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Grace Kim.
Area players: Auston Kim, Chella Choi.
TV: Golf Channel (July 9-10, 6-11 a.m.; July 11-12, 4-11 a.m.).
PGA Tour Champions
Event: Kaulig Companies Championship, July 9-12, Firestone Country Club, Akron, Ohio.
Purse: $3.5 million ($525,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Area players: David Duval, Zach Johnson, Davis Love III, Vijay Singh.
TV: Golf Channel (July 9-10, 2-4 p.m.; July 11-12, 12-4 p.m.).
Korn Ferry Tour
Event: The Blue Championship, July 9-12, TPC Colorado, Berthoud, Colo.
Purse: $1 million ($180,000 to the winner).
2025 champion: Neal Shipley.
Area players: Tyson Alexander, Sebastian Cappelen, Nick Gabrelcik, Luke Guthrie, Robbie Higgins, Nick Infanti, Rick Lamb, Doc Redman, Julian Suri, Michael Thompson, Travis Trace, Carl Yuan.
TV: None.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Miles Russell, Paul Tesori finally work out their PGA Tour play date
Reporting by Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
