Cameron Young conquers his first PGA title at the Wyndham Championship

Cameron Young finally got his first PGA Tour victory on Sunday, after seven second places, and he made it look easy. With a streak of five consecutive birdies at the beginning, he built a nine-stroke lead and headed for a 2-under-par 68 to win the Wyndham Championship by six strokes. He became the 1,000th player to win a recognized PGA Tour event, a milestone dating back to the 1860 British Open with Willie Park. For Young, it must have felt like 165 years had passed, given the number of opportunities he’s had since his rookie season in 2022.

I’ve been waiting for this for a while. I never thought I’d be so excited. But it’s the end of my fourth season. I’ve had my chances and I wasn’t going to let it slip away.

Cameron Young

After those five consecutive birdies, Young made nine straight pars, and a couple of insignificant bogeys at the end only cost him the chance to set a tournament scoring record. He finished at 22-under 258, matching the record of J.T. Poston (2019) and Henrik Stenson (2017).

Where am I going? I’ve never done this before.

Cameron Young

Mac Meissner won the B flight. With a round of 66, he finished alone in second place, earning him $893,800 and allowing him to move up to number 86 in the FedEx Cup. Although he will not advance to the postseason, this gives him a big boost to stay in the top 100 in November and keep his full card. Auburn junior Jackson Koivun, with a round of 67, tied for fifth place, securing his participation in the next PGA Tour event in September. He has postponed his PGA Tour card from the PGA Tour University accelerated program until next year. The victory came at the perfect moment for Young, the 28-year-old player from New York, whose main goal this year was to be in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Although the victory only places him in 15th place in the Ryder Cup standings, it gives him two more FedEx Cup playoff events to prove his worth. His power is ideal for Bethpage Black, where in 2017 he became the first amateur to win the New York State Open.

That team is a goal for many of us. Obviously, I would love to have the opportunity to play. I have more opportunities to earn a place on the team.

Cameron Young

There was a lot of drama at the Sedgefield Country Club, but not at the top of the leaderboard. Young, with a five-stroke lead, stumbled on the opening hole with a bogey. However, he responded with an 8-foot birdie putt on the next hole, kicking off five consecutive birdies. The third hole was revealing, when Nico Echavarria celebrated a birdie from just under 30 feet. Young calmly responded with a 25-foot birdie putt and the victory was secured. The Wyndham Championship is the last regular season tournament that determines the top 70 in the FedEx Cup, who advance to the lucrative postseason that begins next week. Finally, only Chris Kirk advanced to the top 70 with his tie for fifth place, and Byeong Hun An (missed cut) was the only one to be left out. The final hour was no less exciting. Davis Thompson needed a great finish to move up from 78th in the FedEx Cup, and he achieved it with a birdie putt from just under 50 feet on the 15th hole, a par 5. He was inside the top 70 when he reached the 18th hole, but he three-putted from 45 feet. Thompson missed a 6-foot par putt, falling back to 71st place by a margin of five points.

It’s a shame to end the regular season this way.

Davis Thompson

The last spot went to Matti Schmid from Germany, who reached the last week in 70th place and, surprisingly, stayed there. He was about to miss the cut until he returned on Saturday morning to finish the second round delayed by the storm, playing the last six holes in 5 under par. And on Sunday, after a double bogey on the 11th hole that put him 5 over par in his round, Schmid birdied his last three holes, from 25 feet, 10 feet and 25 feet, which ultimately sent him to the FedEx St. Jude Championship next week with a $20 million purse. Schmid was hopeful when he saw a video screen on the 15th hole projecting him in 72nd place.

Which I thought: ‘Okay, this isn’t that far off.’ And then I made three birdies, so I should probably look at it more often.

Matti Schmid

Nobody exhaled like Young, a great talent who finally has a trophy to show for it. Not since David Duval, had someone had seven second places on the PGA Tour before winning. Even more frustrating for Young was that someone always played better. His scoring average in the final round in those second places was 66.7. The other was in Match Play, where Sam Burns beat him with eight birdies in his last 10 holes. Young made it difficult for anyone to beat him on Sunday.