Cameron Young broke his driver in anger and then blew another chance to claim his maiden PGA Tour title on Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Young, 27, knocked on the door yet again but shot 2-over 38 coming home, which isn’t going to get the job done when it matters. Young closed in 1-over 73 and finished T-6 in Detroit, recording his 18th top-10 since joining the PGA Tour at the start of the 2021-22 season; he is one of 13 players with at least 18 top-10s in that span, and he is the only such player without a victory.
The only other player without a victory and at least 17 top-10s on Tour since the start of the 2021-22 season is Tommy Fleetwood (17).
Beginning the day one stroke back, Young started with five straight pars and a bogey. Failure to launch again? Maybe not as he birdied the eighth and ninth and he was one back. The trophy was there for the taking. But then the birdies dried up.
Seems bad! pic.twitter.com/A0DxSHs94E
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) June 30, 2024
As the frustration of missed fairways – he hit just five in the final round and ranked 74th or dead last in the field – and missed putts mounted, Young cracked his driver on the 14thtee, slamming it into the ground and pressing his weight into the shaft after a snap-hook. CBS’s Trevor Immelman and the announcer crew pointed out his negative energy down the stretch, especially as he brooded on the greens as his putter let him down too. He missed from inside 4 feet for par at 16 and then after reaching the par-5 17th with a pair of 3-woods, he still had a chance as no one else seemed willing to grab the trophy by the neck. That glimmer of hope died a painful death as he took three putts from 60 feet and walked off the green with par. (He ranked 66th of 74 in SG: Putting on Sunday.) The bogey at 18 merely cost him some dollars and FedEx Cup points. His fate already was sealed and had he birdied to finish T-2, it would’ve have meant eight, not seven runner-up finishes without a W. In this case, seven is enough.
Young, who topped the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, is too talented to not get that elusive first win soon but until he proves it, he’s going to keep getting hounded by questions about his inability to close the deal. Payne Stewart was known as Avis at the start of his career for all his seconds and went on to win three majors and make the Hall of Fame before his tragic death and Padraig Harrington wore the same badge before capturing three majors himself and being inducted into the Hall just last month, so Young can still figure out the puzzle that is becoming a great champion. In the meantime, here’s to a better future for his next driver shaft.
