PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida - Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and Nicholas Logis of Austin, Texas, hold the lead at 4-under-par 68 after the first round of The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by Rolex.
Russell, the 2023 champion, opened his round with a birdie on the par-5 No. 2. After a bogey on the par-5 No. 4, he quickly bounced back with a birdie at No. 6 and added another on the par-5 No. 9 to make the turn at 2-under-par 34. On the back nine, the 2023 Rolex Junior Player of the Year carded two bogeys but answered with four birdies, capped by an electric finish on his final hole. He and Logis hold a one-shot lead after the opening round.
"I played well out there today. It wasn't playing easy, especially after that rain and the little bit of wind. Everything was pretty solid. I'm going to keep enjoying it and have fun."
Logis, ranked No. 75 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, is making his tournament debut. The Texas native opened on the par-4 No. 10 with seven straight pars before carding back-to-back birdies to make the turn at 2-under-par 34. On his back nine, he rattled off three consecutive birdies on Nos. 2, 3, and 4, but dropped shots on the par-4 No. 5 and par-3 No. 8. He closed with a birdie on the par-5 No. 9 to finish the round tied with Russell.
Thanks to a longtime partnership between the PGA TOUR and the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), 78 of the world's top-ranked male junior golfers, invited through the Rolex AJGA Rankings, will compete in a 54-hole, stroke-play event mirroring THE PLAYERS Championship setup and hole locations.
The 19th annual Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by Rolex showcases the best of the next generation of future college and professional stars. To date, 74 past players have graduated to play in the PGA TOUR's THE PLAYERS Championship. Justin Thomas became the first Junior PLAYERS Championship alumni to win the professional event in 2021. He competed as a junior in 2008 and 2009. Scottie Scheffler was the second Junior PLAYERS competitor to win The PLAYERS in 2023 after competing three years in the event as a junior and being named the AJGA's 2013 Rolex Junior Player of the Year. Scheffler won the event again in 2024.
Representatives from a 16 foreign countries are competing in one of the AJGA’s annual top fields, featuring 12 of the top 20 boys in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
Chasing the leaders, Grayson Baucom of Hickory, North Carolina, and Phillip Dunham of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, sit tied for third after rounds of 3-under-par 69. Brady Barnum of Dublin, Ohio, Tom De Herrypon of Paris, France, Jessy Huebner of Port St. Lucie, Florida, Bailey Sutter of Cullman, Alabama, and Asher Vargas of Spring, Texas, are tied for fifth at 1-under-par 71.
Second-round tee times will run from 8:10-10:10 a.m. off Nos. 1 and 10 at TPC Sawgrass - THE PLAYERS Stadium Course on Saturday, August 30.