Wild year has guided Young toward top
ORLANDO, Fla. — It was a year ago this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational when Cameron Young’s career really started to pop.
He tied for 13th playing Bay Hill for the first time, which elevated his world ranking high enough to assure him an invitation into his first Masters.
What became a whiplash year of amazing firsts was ironically defined by a series of seconds for the 25-year-old Young, who grew up learning the game at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Briarcliff Manor under the guidance of his father David, who was the club pro for two decades.
Young finished runner-up in four tournaments last season, including his solo second in the British Open at St. Andrews, where he shot 31 on the back nine of the Old Course and was barely beaten by Aussie Cameron Smith.
Though Young, ranked 16th in the world, is still seeking his first PGA Tour victory, those secondplace finishes were critical in his elevation to raising his ranking and profile and playing the biggest events in the world. And he excelled in a few of them, nearly winning the PGA Championship before finishing a shot out of a playoff and taking third place.
“I feel like I did play really nicely last year,’’ Young said Wednesday after his Arnold Palmer Invitational pro-am round. “I think there is some emphasis put on me trying to win for the first time, which of course I am. But I think, for me, I have to look at it as I could win a golf tournament this year and not necessarily be any better than last year. I don’t know if it is a mark of improvement for me in that sense.’’
His takeaway from the near misses at Southern Hills and St. Andrews?
“That winning an event like that is something I can do,’’ Young said.
Asked which loss at the two majors in which he came so close hurt the most, the PGA, at which his double bogey on 16 derailed him, or the British, Young said: “It’s hard to say. At the Open Championship I was right there the whole week and at PGA I kind of felt like I snuck up and all of a sudden had a chance to win. So, they’re very different.
“I played some great golf and had some good opportunities. The more of those I have, the better.’’
One of the moments when Young realized he was no longer a low-ranked grinder seeking PGA Tour playing status came as a member of the Presidents Cup team.
That week felt light years from 2020, when he had no status on any tour and was playing in Monday qualifiers to get into Korn Ferry Tour events.
“A week like [the Presidents Cup] is very unique for someone like me,’’ Young said. “As a rookie on the PGA Tour, those aren’t necessarily the dinner tables you kind of picture yourself sitting at starting out. It was huge for me just to kind of get more comfortable out here. Not only in a golf sense, but on a personal level too.’’