Miles Russell has seen a lot in the 15 years he has been around. First, a Korn Ferry Tour debut, and now a PGA Tour debut—all came within two months. The journey from watching Golf Central sitting next to his dad to playing in the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic had multiple ups and downs.

Golf is hard, and like most pros, the youngster relied on his family and coach to lift his spirits. As Russell makes strides on the PGA Tour, we take a look at the people behind the youngster’s jaw-dropping success.

Who are Miles Russell’s parents?

Miles Russell was born into a family of golf fanatics. His grandfather, Ron Hipp, and his father, Joe Russell, took him to the range when he was just two. In Russell’s own words, he finished a bucket of balls in just two minutes. That was just the start.

Soon, the kid picked up watching golf with his father. Joe Russell later told Jacksonville.com that he never had to force his son into the game. Practice rounds were a source of joy for young Russell.

“I usually have to tell him it’s time to go home and then start walking to the car. Then I hope he gets the hint. He’s played T-ball and travel soccer, but I think golf is going to be the sport he sticks with,” Joe Russell told Jacksonville.com in 2018.

After his KFT debut amid heightened media attention, the youngster credited his father and mother, Kelli Russell, for keeping him calm. While they take care of the teenager outside the ropes, it’s his long-time coach, Ramon Bescansa, who handles the job on the greens. 

Who is Ramon Bescansa?

Ramon Bescansa is a former pro and current putting coach for a handful of PGA Tour players. Growing up in Santiago, Spain, like most Spanish pros, Bescansa idolized Seve Ballesteros. The Spanish International plied his trade in PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour Canada. He has only one PGA Tour event under his name.

Ironically, during his playing days, putting bothered the Spaniard the most. To solve the crisis, he and his father, Ramon Bescansa De La Gandara, an engineer, created the Perfect Putter, a green reading device to generate the perfect roll of the ball.

Graeme McDowell, Carlos Ortiz, and Matt Wallace Sean O’Hair are some of the players who have used the device to improve their putting. The Spaniard has worked with Harris English and Chris Kirk, as well as a golf instructor. Bescana brings that wealth of experience to Russell’s career. He isn’t just his putting coach; he has been on his bag for the two most important events of his career. 

Ramon Bescansa is both Miles Russell’s caddie and coach at his PGA Tour debut

The time hasn’t come yet to have a full-time bagman, but the way Miles Russell is progressing, that day is not far away. Until then, Bescansa has taken the mantle of looping for Russell. Before the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the Spaniard was on the bag for the young prodigy at his Korn Ferry Tour debut as well.

Russell tied for 20th at the LECOM Suncoast Classic, his first KFT event, where he became the youngest player to make the cut. Miles is 15, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have his say. And Bescansa knows better than to doubt his student’s ability.

In the opening round at Lakewood National Golf Club, the 15-year-old ended up 70 feet away from the green on the first hole. Ramon Bescansa wanted him to use a putter because the ball was on the green. But Russell was adamant about using a wedge. He remembered that the putter didn’t work for him in the practice round.

“I’m like, no, we’re going to have to chip this. And I grabbed the wedge, and he grabbed the putter out of the bag, and [I’m] looking at him, like, I have to chip it. There’s no way to get it close with a putter,” Russell told Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on the Subpar podcast. Ultimately, Bescansa gave in, and the 15-year-old saved par with a perfect chip. It was fitting because nine years ago, it was Russell’s chip that convinced Bescansa that this kid was different.

How did Miles Russell team up with Bescana?

Miles Russell was just six when Ramon Bescansa first saw him. The kid was trying to enter his tutelage. The Spaniard was working with a set of PGA Tour pros and Tour hopefuls. Russell was just six, accompanied by a guardian who thought the kid needed some real golf lessons.

But Bescansa couldn’t turn them away just like that. Russell took the cue and showed his skill. He didn’t have to labor too much; all it took was a chip. Later, Bescansa told the PGA Tour that even at that age, his contact with the ball was crisp, his technique was as good as it could be, and the six-year-old was neat in picking the ball from the turf. 

Those were enough signs for Bescansa. “I can work with this,” the 41-year-old recalled, having said this to Russell’s family. After only three years of working together, Russell was off to Augusta National for the Drive Chip and Putt contest.

The youngster won all three qualifiers; he took part in the local one at TPC Sawgrass, the sub-regional at World Golf Village, and the regional again at Sawgrass. In his first shot at the Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship, the nine-year-old was second.

After his KFT debut, Russell said, “The vibes he [Ramon Bescansa] puts off… when you’re on the golf course, that’s all you need. He can flip the mood and get you going, [and] his knowledge of golf is on a different level.” The 15-year-old will need a lot of that wizardry going forward.