Cameron Young, Feeling Right at Home, Could Be Dangerous at the PGA

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Golf fans might remember when a reporter hilariously asked Cameron Young about his journey from “the streets of New York” to major championship contender after he finished solo second at the British Open last summer.

Young, who very accurately called the question a “stretch,” didn’t grow up in the concrete jungle, but rather 45 minutes north in Scarborough, N.Y. He honed his game at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, a Charles Blair Macdonald design with sweeping views of the Hudson River, where his father David was the head professional. 

According to Young, the conditions and design elements of Sleepy Hollow are much like those at Oak Hill Country Club, where he’ll tee it up this week for only his second PGA Championship appearance. 

This time, Young—who finished T3 at Southern Hills in the 2022 PGA—flipped the script and brought attention to his Northeast golf upbringing in both an accurate and unprompted manner.

“I think I’m just really excited for this week, to get on a New York golf course that’s obviously in major championship condition. It feels like home. Obviously I didn’t live that close to here, but it’s the same style of golf, and I’m just excited for the week,” Young said. 

“It was beautiful out there today, and even just something as simple as that just feels very familiar to me. It’s a lot like playing spring golf at home when I was in high school,” he said of Oak Hill, which he has only played once in competition, at the New York State Amateur.

Oak Hill, an original Donald Ross design with recent restorations conducted by Andrew Green, will test players this week with thick rough, treacherous bunkering and tucked pin locations on oddly shaped greens. An iconic architect’s work is upheld by a top tier grounds crew, a recipe that presents a golf course which doesn’t feel familiar to many. 

But for Young, even the way the sticky blades of bentgrass interact with his clubs feels comfortable. And that means the 26-year-old can execute the full directory of iron shots he’s accustomed to. 

“I think one of the things is just the fairways. We play so many places that are Bermuda fairways, and to get some really tight bent-ryegrass-poa annua fairways is really fun for me. I think it’s really rewarding with your iron play.

“It opens the door to hit a bunch of shots that you can’t necessarily hit at other places, so that’s something that I really enjoy. I think the chipping, the wedges and the iron play off those really tight fairways is something that I look forward to anytime we get to come up this way,” Young said.

Young might not have a PGA Tour victory yet, but he carries a lot of confidence with him to the first tee on Thursday given his resume. 

The 2022 PGA Tour rookie of the year absolutely dominates on long, mentally taxing Northeast venues. In 2017, Young won the Metropolitan PGA’s New York State Open at Bethpage Black with a final-round 7-under 64, a score that tied the course record at the infamously grueling track. Young also won the 2018 Westchester Open—still as an amateur—at Sunningdale in Scarsdale, N.Y. In the midst of his early career as a Korn Ferry Tour pro, Young qualified for the 2019 U.S. Open at Old Oaks and Century Country Club, a site which historically sees some of the highest qualifying scores in the country. Young bested the field by five shots. 

There is a common thread among success stories at such courses: length off the tee. Young ranks third in driving distance on the PGA Tour so far this season, behind Rory McIlroy and Brandon Matthews. 

It’s not to say Young’s amateur victories at state-level pro events will necessarily convert into major championship trophies, but clearly something about this type of golf course suits his eye. 

But perhaps it’s the tournament itself that bodes well for Young. Every year at the PGA Championship, 20 PGA professionals qualify to tee it up in the stacked major field. 

Young’s father, who recently retired as Sleepy Hollow’s head professional, never earned a spot in the championship, but that reality might have given Young an even greater appreciation for those who have. 

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for guys that are able to compete that well knowing how intense their jobs are,” Young said. “It's a hard business to be in, and to maintain that level is golf is very impressive. Obviously I hope for them to have a good week. It's a great experience to get to play in a major championship no matter the circumstances. It's an amazing week for them and cool to have them around, too.”