Blades Brown, Miles Russell secure sponsor exemptions into 2025 LECOM Suncoast Classic

The Korn Ferry Tour’s youth movement will be in full force at next month’s 2025 LECOM Suncoast Classic, as the last two AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year winners will compete in west Florida.

Teen phenom Miles Russell, 16, who made Korn Ferry Tour history at last year’s LECOM Suncoast Classic as the youngest player (on record) to notch a top-25 finish on the Korn Ferry Tour or PGA TOUR, will return this year on a sponsor exemption. Newly minted pro Blades Brown, 17, will also play on a sponsor exemption at Lakewood National Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, outside Tampa. The duo represents the last two AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year winners; Russell won in 2023 (becoming the award’s youngest winner), followed by Brown in 2024.

The LECOM Suncoast Classic announced these exemptions Wednesday night on Instagram. The event is slated for April 16-19.

Last year, Russell carded four rounds under par at Lakewood National for a T20 finish at age 15, earning a spot in the following week’s Veritex Bank Championship (he carded rounds of 68-70 but missed the cut). He also made two PGA TOUR starts in 2024, missing the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Russell currently holds the No. 1 spot in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, a spot previously held by Brown. Russell’s recent results include a victory at the South Beach International Amateur in December and a third-place finish at the Jones Cup Invitational (he shared third with Vanderbilt senior Jackson Van Paris, who currently stands No. 6 on the 2025 PGA TOUR University Ranking). Russell currently stands No. 33 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Brown turned professional in December, eschewing the traditional college golf path. He has made three TOUR starts thus far in 2025, finishing T34 at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld but missing two cuts. He also finished T26 at the TOUR’s Myrtle Beach Classic last May, competing as an amateur.

Brown will make his Korn Ferry Tour debut the week prior to the LECOM Suncoast Classic at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club, with the tournament team announcing the you star as a sponsor exemption. The 2025 edition of Savannah’s official Korn Ferry Tour event begins March 31 at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club’s acclaimed Deer Creek Course. Brown stood No. 1 on the Rolex AJGA Rankings upon turning pro.