The Woodlands, Texas - After the second round of competition, Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, sits at 10-under-par 134. He holds a four-shot lead heading to the final round.
With temperatures dropping below 50 degrees and the winds picking up, conditions were much tougher for scoring during the second round. Only 14 players went under par and two players are within two shots of the lead.
The AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods is one of the longest-running events on the AJGA schedule. Originally played in 1987, the tournament settled at The Club at Carlton Woods in 2009. The event has a storied past with champions such as Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth.
Russell's 2-under-par 70 marks his sixth-straight round under par in AJGA competition dating back to his win at the Rolex Tournament of Champions in November of 2024.
"I'm going to try and keep this momentum going. In the last two days its been great to have my parents out here supporting and I'm looking forward to keeping things going tomorrow."
He started his round with a front-nine 1-over-par 37, including one bogey. His back nine featured two birdies on Nos. 12 and 13 to get him back under par for the day.
Coming into the event at No. 2 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, the 2027 grad is coming off a win at the Rolex Tournament of Champions in November of 2024. The 2023 Rolex Junior Player of the Year is looking to build off his T14 finish at this event in 2024.
Sitting in second place at 6-under-par 138 is Michael Riebe of Encinitas, California. He shot a 5-under-par 67 in the first round and was in third place coming into the second round. He successfully navigated the difficult conditions to card a 1-under-par 71.
The 2025 grad came into the event at No. 9 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. He is playing in his third AJGA Simplify Boys Championship at Carlton Woods. His best finish was T8 in 2024.
Rounding out the top 10 are:
3. (-5) - Giuseppe Puebla of Royal Palm Beach, Florida
T4. (-4) - Jessy Huebner of Port St Lucie, Florida
T4. (-4) - Dawson Lew of Toronto, Canada
T6. (-3) - Kihei Akina of Kahuku, Hawaii
T6. (-3) - Luke Colton of Frisco, Texas
T6. (-3) - William Lisle of (Hong Kong) Bradenton, Florida
T9. (-2) - John Daniel Culbreth of Thomasville, Georgia
T9. (-2) - Benjamin Baker of Broadlands, Virginia
T9. (-2) - Ronin Banerjee of Irvine, California
Final-round tee times begin Sunday at 8:30 a.m. off Nos. 1 and 10.