Cameron Young, the son of a PGA Professional, is in a fabulous position to win the Wanamaker Trophy heading into Sunday’s finale at Southern Hills Country Club.
But the way he’s been playing of late, it shouldn’t be a surprise.
Young, who has finished T3 and T2 in his last two PGA Tour starts, shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to move into solo fourth slotting him in the penultimate final round pairing.
The PGA Tour rookie’s moving day effort was highlighted by an eagle on the par-4 17th. He knocked his drive 302 yards and rolled in the 24-footer. The eagle came after a bogey on the par-4 16th. “The eagle came at a really nice time,” said Young.
Young bogeyed his second hole of the day but added birdies on No’s 5, 6, 9, and 13. After opening the tournament with a 1-over 71, this is his second straight round of 67.
All in all, he handled the pressure well. Now he’s not only looking for his first PGA Tour title, but his first major championship. “I don’t really have much of an explanation for it, but I think I’ve played really nicely, honestly, in this calendar year,” said Young. “I’ve been very consistent, and I’ve been around the lead a decent bit.”
Young’s father, David, is the Head Golf Professional at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, New York. David told PGA.com earlier this week that he’s used to watching is son on TV. But this week he’s on site in Tulsa.
“I’ll be able to watch in person and see everything that’s going on. I get to see his swing and his game, not just the result,” said David Young. “I’m just really excited.”
Cameron Young gave his father plenty of reasons to be excited on Saturday, and now he’s gearing up to be in one of the final groups on Sunday at the PGA Championship – a championship that means so much to he and his family.
2022 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD
Young said he’s been “given so much” because of the PGA of America.
Without the PGA his father would have had the job he’s had for decades. Without Sleepy Hollow, he wouldn’t have started playing golf at four years old. He wouldn’t have started playing PGA Junior events as a youngster, either.
“To go from local PGA junior tournaments, national PGA juniors, to Junior Ryder Cup, to even play in a PGA Championship is really cool for me,” said Young. “(The PGA) has kind of been with me my whole way through.”
Although you’d assume winning the PGA Championship in your debut would be a rare feat – it technically is, historically – you only need to go back two years in the records books to see when it last happened. That was Collin Morikawa in 2020.
Young, a graduate of the Korn Ferry Tour last season, is looking to become the first Korn Ferry Tour grad to win a major the following season since Keegan Bradley in 2011. Bradley, also the son of a PGA Professional, captured the Wanamaker Trophy that year in his PGA Championship debut.
Young has played three majors in his career. He missed the cut at the Masters in April – a “hiccup” in his solid play, he said – and missed the cut at the U.S. Open in both 2019 and 2021. His body of work this season, however, has been the epitome of ‘trending.’ He has four top-10 finishes this season: T2-T2-T3-T2. He’s knocking on the door.
“If I were to win a major championship... I would take any one of them,” said Young, “but this one specifically with my parents here this week would be pretty incredible.”
Four at the top. All playing for their first major victory.
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2022
Tomorrow should be interesting.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/1wtC1WDyFr
