With a deft stroke and another birdie buried in the bottom of the cup at the sixth hole of the Omni Barton Creek Resort Canyons course, Miles Russell found himself as close to the lead in a PGA Tour event as any time in his life in the third round of the Austin Championship on Nov. 14.

Russell, an 18-year-old Jacksonville Beach native who began the third round in a tie for ninth, four shots behind Trace Crowe, had already made his fourth cut in five starts this season. A 9-under 135 beat his previous best 36-hole PGA Tour score by two shots as he posted opening rounds of 67-68.

Three birdies in his first six holes put him in a tie for third, one shot behind Crowe. Russell's bid to climb higher faltered with a double bogey at the par-4 ninth hole but the weekend's not over yet and he finished with a 71 for a 54-hole total of 10-under 206, in a tie for 14th at the time he signed his card, three shots behind co-leaders Crowe, Erik Van Rooyen and Chad Ramey.

Russell made only one more birdie after the sixth hole, a two-putt from 36 feet at the par-5 14th hole, and bogeyed the par-5 18th after a visit to native grasses on the left of the fairway.

That's where Russell got into trouble at the ninth hole, with his second shot finding a penalty area. But he's executed many more good shots than not in his ninth PGA Tour start and his fifth of the season.

Russell has made 16 birdies, the product of hitting 43 of 54 greens (79.6 percent). He's also hit 73.8 percent of his fairways (31 of 42).

It's already been a big week for Russell. On Nov. 9 he was named the American Junior Golf Association boys Player of the Year for the third time, a feat equaled in the past only by Phil Mickelson, and on Nov. 11 he signed a letter of intent to play golf at Florida State, the key piece of the puzzle to give the Seminoles the top recruiting class in the nation.

Russell is well on his way to topping his best PGA Tour performance, a tie for 39th in the U.S. Open. His best showing in a Korn Ferry Tour event was last March with a tie for 15th in the Club Car Championship in Savannah.