The PGA Tour’s regular season closed with the Wyndham Championship. Did Cameron Young hold onto his big lead and close the deal in Greensboro?
Cameron Young is finally a PGA Tour winner and he left no doubt after an ominous beginning to his final round at the Wyndham Championship on Aug. 1
Young began the day with a five-shot lead, bogeyed his first hole after a sloppy chip and then rattled off five birdies in a row to leave no doubt that he would finally put years of close calls behind him. Young went on to post a final-round 68 and a tournament record 22-under-par 258, six shots clear of Mac Meissner at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C,
Young, who played college golf at nearby Wake Forest, won in his 94th start and moved from 40th to 16th on the FedEx Cup points list and from 40th to 21st on the money list with the $1,476,000 first-place check. He is also the 1,000th PGA Tour winner and the 12th first-time Tour winner this season.
Young passed $20 million in career earnings.
Young had seven runner-up finishes entering the tournament, the most by any PGA Tour player without a victory since 1983.
"I wasn't going to let it get away from me," Young said during his post-round interview on CBS.
He also poked fun at himself. After making the final putt, he turned to the CBS cameraman and said, "Where do I go? I've never done this before."
Meissner posted a 66 and vaulted 66 spots up the FedEx Cup point list from 152nd to 86th. Mark Hubbard (63) and Alex Noren (64) tied for third at 15-under and Chris Kirk (68), defending champion Aaron Rai (68) and amateur Jackson Koivun (67) tied for fifth at 14-under.
Cameron Young built 9-shot lead, played it safe
Young's opening bogey was followed by three birdie putts of 9 feet or less, a roll of 26 feet at the third hole and a 13-footer at No. 6 that gave him a nine-shot lead. With only himself to beat, Young played it smart over the remainder of the round, finding fairways and greens and being content with a series of two-putt pars.
In winning, Young finally fulfilled the promise he had shown as a rookie in 2022 when he had five second places (including a solo second in the British Open) and a tie for third in the PGA Championship. Young set the rookie record in earnings with more than $6.5 million and was a captain's pick for the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow in Charlotte by Davis Love III.
FedEx Cup drama unfolds at the end
With no doubt about the winner, the subplot on Sunday afternoon became the FedEx Cup standings. The top 70 after the Wyndham Championship advanced to the FedEx Cup Playoff beginning next week with the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
The biggest jump into the top 70 was by Kirk, who moved from 73rd to 61st.
Davis Thompson and Gary Woodland both had chances to move inside the top 70 and faded at the end.
Thompson made a monster putt of nearly 50 feet at No. 15 and needed one more birdie. However, he parred the next two holes and bogeyed the last to finish tied for 11th at 12-under and 71st on the points list.
Woodland took himself on a thrill ride over the final five holes, going bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey and with a 70, tied for 23rd at 9-under and came in 72nd on the final points list.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Wyndham Championship: Cameron Young breezes to first PGA Tour title
Category: General Sports
