Kris Kim vs Miles Russell: Careers, Handicap & More Explored

Just two weeks after Miles Russell made history on the Korn Ferry Tour and became the youngest player to make the cut on the developmental tour, another amateur player will soon follow suit. 16-year-old Kris Kim from England has received a sponsor exemption to play at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson as a CJ Group ambassador.

The amateurs share a similar fire for the game of golf and want to make a name for themselves in the golf world. But comparatively speaking, who has a better record on the golf course?

Between Miles Russell and Kris Kim, who has more wins?

Miles Russell and Kris Kim were introduced to golf early in their lives. Russell had his enthusiastic father and grandfather, who took him to a golf course at the age of two. Kim had former LPGA Tour player Ji Hyun Suh and his mother, who introduced the game when he was only five. Since then, Kim, a year older than the 15-year-old Russell, hasn’t turned away from golf.

In his amateur career so far, the 16-year-old amateur has won four times in his career. Surprisingly, all four victories came in 2023. The four victories include the McGregor Trophy, the R&A Boys Championship, the European Boys’ Individual Championship, and the Fairhaven Trophy.

On the other hand, Russel has 14 wins at the Florida Junior Tour and only two international wins. Without a doubt, he takes priority over Kim because both victories have made significant historical records. First was the 15-year-old’s victory at the Junior PLAYER Championship, which made him the youngest to do so, while Kim was 40th on the leaderboard. Before this, Russell had won the Junior PGA Championship and the AJGA Rolex Player of the Year. It made him the youngest player to clinch the award and break Tiger Woods’s 32-year-old record.

On that note, Russell has also ranked better than Kim and is currently ranked no. 1 on AJGA and 118th on WAGR. Whereas, the 16-year-old is 142nd on AJGA, having played only two events without any wins, and 464th on WAGR. But one place when Kim defeated Russell was at the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup. In singles, Kim won by 5 and 4 over Russell and helped Team Europe to win the Junior Ryder Cup for the first time after 2006.

As Russell clearly wins to triumph in more events, who out of the two has a better handicap?

Miles Russell vs Kris Kim’s handicap

Unfortunately for but very fortunate for Russell, he has a way better handicap score than his British counterpart. While Kim has a score of +6, Russell reportedly has a handicap score of +7. However, despite the competition between them, the England native doesn’t take Russell as his arch-rival.

Instead, seeing him play makes him push more and be a better golfer. Showing his admiration for the American amateur, Kim said, “To see that he can compete, I think I can compete as well out here… It’s been fun to watch him do well.”

Though there have been many differences between the two, they do have one thing in common. Russell and Kim were the youngest players to sign an NIL deal from their respective countries because of their upward career trajectory. Nonetheless, Russell has already made records. Will Kris Kim follow a similar path and become the youngest to make the cut at the PGA Tour events? Stay tuned to find out.