Quechee
He also made an additional $400 or so for that little moment of accuracy.
Such things haven’t been a concern for the Kimball Union Academy graduate until recently. But college golf is done, and with it an impressive amateur career, replaced by what Russell hopes will be a professional future. His two days of work netted a tie for sixth place at 4-under 140 — six shots behind first-time Open winner Jeff Curl — and his first pro check, for $1,687.50, funds likely to go toward … well, life.
“I’m going to reinvest in some entry fees, I guess,” Russell said with a smile at day’s end. “It’s nothing crazy, so I’ll live off it, I guess.”
Russell made his switch to pro golf official last week, debuting his new status at the Cape Cod Open at Hyannis (Mass.) Golf Club. His 73-73-75—221 line was good enough to play all three rounds, just not good enough to cash. Russell was well off the cut line at his U.S. Open sectional on Monday in Maryland, but that tourney wasn’t going to generate coin, either.
Quechee provided a good opportunity. Russell’s University of Hartford teams had played Lakeland during Dartmouth College’s fall tournaments there the last two years, so he had some knowledge. And it wasn’t far from home; an Essex Junction, Vt., native, Russell continues to identify and find comfort with all things Vermont when it comes to golf.
“I hadn’t thought about it until after I made that putt (on 18) and realized I was going to make some money,” Russell said. “I thought it was just pretty fitting that it was in Vermont that I’d be getting my first paycheck, so it was pretty cool.”
The Green Mountain State has factored significantly in Russell’s past successes. He played on dominant Essex High teams, winning three VPA Division I championships, before transferring to KUA following a family move. He won the Vermont Amateur twice, and his New England Amateur championship came on a Vermont course, Green Mountain National.
Beyond that, Russell produced superb results through four seasons at Hartford. He twice made the NCAA regionals, including last month in Wisconsin, and he won the medal at the Big Sky Conference championship in early May. In his mind, turning pro wasn’t a matter of if, but when.
“I think I really had two options for the summer,” Russell said. “One was to try and qualify for PGA Tour Canada, and the other option was to kind of do these events and get used to it. And I felt this was just the best for me, to get a lot of practice in and get used to the transition of being a pro and playing for money, because it’s definitely different.”
The New England PGA maneuvered schedules this year to create a situation that will enable golfers to play more state opens in a more convenient period of time. The New England Open used to be a September event; by moving it to June, the association set up a run where golfers could play open tournaments at Cape Cod, New England, Massachusetts and Vermont over four weeks, with another three-week stretch through the Bangor, New Hampshire and Maine opens later in the summer.
Russell will play some of those events, but not all of them. Instead, he plans to try Monday qualifiers for the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship in Connecticut, a new Web.com Tour event in western New York next month and a PGA Tour-Canada event in Ottawa in August. Beyond that, Russell sees himself heading south to prepare for Web.com Tour qualifying in the fall.
“Not too many events,” Russell said. “I wanted to take it easy in this transition and kind of get used to it, because it’s definitely a little different feeling out there.”
Russell admittedly needs to improve in a couple of areas — as exemplified by two days on Quechee Lakeland — if he’s to realize his professional golf goals. He played Lakeland’s five par-5s only to even par on Thursday, and those are holes he must exploit. His 29 putts weren’t bad but could be better, he said, although he scrambled well with only seven one-putt greens and a solitary three-putt bogey.
Coming down the stretch of a professional tournament, where one putt could mean hundreds more won or thousands more lost, those things will matter now that Russell is playing for dough as much as show.
“I tried my best not to think about money, because it’s not like it’s a huge amount for these events, but it’s definitely something,” Russell noted. “And especially coming down the last few holes, every shot mattered. I felt it a little bit, but it was a good feeling. And I handled it well, I thought.”
Chip Shots: Curl, a Connecticut native now living in Alabama, carried a one-shot lead into Thursday and made it stick, winning by three strokes over New Hampshire pro Rich Berberian Jr. and Maine amateur Matt Hutchins with rounds of 67-67—134. “Today was a hard day; today was really hard,” said Curl, who — like the whole field — had to battle stiff winds and below-average temperatures. “I didn’t think anybody would shoot 5 under today. I didn’t think I would shoot 5 under today. I didn’t think I needed to shoot 5 under. Looks like I didn’t.” … Curl spent the last seven years on the Web.com Tour before losing his card after last season. … Former Hanover High golfer Nate Choukas arguably had the second-best day among are golfers behind Russell. While many golfers saw their scores balloon in Thursday’s gusty conditions, Choukas shot a 1-over 73 to shave seven strokes off his opening round. The Trinity College sophomore’s two-day 153 earned a tie for ninth place among amateurs. … Lebanon’s Pat Pelletier shot 75-77—152 to share 73rd place overall. Hanover’s Sam Bracket was a shot back. … Hartford High grad Zach Temple (154) and Dartmouth women’s golf coach Alex Kirk (162) both struggled in the wind and saw their second rounds go up 10 shots beyond their opening efforts. … Ex-Oxbow High competitor Alex Hume finished at 81-78—159.
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.