Palm Beach Gardens, Florida – Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, shot a 6-under-par 66 to take the co-lead with Cayden Pope of Lexington, Kentucky, who shot a 5-under-par 67 in the second round of the Team TaylorMade Invitational. After two rounds, they each sit at 12-under-par 132.
At 14 years-old, Russell shot what is tied for the lowest round of the day. The 2027 grad started his second round with a birdie on the first hole. Russell made eight total birdies on the day.
"My putter was great today. I didn't drive the ball well and it felt like I was knocking it all around the course. I hit some great irons and made a lot of nice putts."
At No. 76 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, Russell is seeking his third win of 2023 and first Invitational win. Russell is coming off wins this spring at the TaylorMade TP5 Junior All-Star and the Moon Golf Junior All-Star. This is Russell's fourth AJGA event.
Pope shot a 5-under-par second round after finishing up his first round early Saturday morning due to weather suspending play on Friday. At No. 24 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, Pope had five birdies on the day with no bogeys.
"It was nice seeing some putts go in early which got some confidence going. Drove it well again today and played from the fairway. I was able to play the ball up, get some good lies, and was able to attack the pins."
Pope is seeking his first-ever win. He finished in second at the 2022 Wyndham Invitational presented by Truist, and T6 at the 2022 Rolex Tournament of Champions. Pope has signed his National Letter of Intent with Auburn University.
Rounding out the top 10:
3. William Jennings (-11)
T4. Nicholas Gross (-10)
T4. Bryan Kim (-10)
6. Ethan Paschal (-9)
7. Henry Guan (-8)
T8. Carson Bertagnole (-7)
T8. Phillip Dunham (-7)
T8. Will Hartman (-7)
T8. Treed Huang (-7)
The Team TaylorMade Invitational is part of a rich history of events including the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods, Wyndham Invitational presented by Truist, and The Junior PLAYERS Championship. This event, and the Jack Burke Jr. Invitational, debuted in 2021 and are the first two AJGA boys stroke play Invitationals added to the schedule since 2007.
The Team TaylorMade Invitational field features 51 former AJGA champions, 26 Rolex Junior All-Americans, and 10 of the top 20 boys in the current Rolex AJGA Rankings at the Country Club at Mirasol.
The final round of the Team TaylorMade Invitational continues Sunday, May 28 from 7:30-9:30 a.m. off Nos. 1 and 10.