Young in Contention at St. Andrews

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (July 15, 2022) -- A day after making his Open debut with a stellar 8-under 64, Cameron Young posted a 3-under 69 on Friday and enters the weekend at St. Andrews in solo second, just two shots behind leader Cameron Smith of Australia.

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"I scored really well," said the four-time MGA champion after his opening round. "And I think we thought our way around the way you have to out there." Young's 8-under was the lowest opening score in a player's first Open Championship round since 1934.

On Friday, Young didn't roll in as many birdie looks, but still looked comfortable in the spotlight at the Home of Golf as he remained on the leaderboard.

"It's obviously a special place for golfers, especially competitive golfers playing one of our greatest championships on one of our oldest, greatest golf courses is a lot of fun," said Young. "But I'll be head down, trying to just do my job the next few days."

Young has had a standout rookie season on the PGA TOUR, logging a trio of runner-up finishes and tying third in the PGA Championship, just one shot out of a playoff.

Young's distance and control off the tee have proved pivotal through the season, ranking second in Shots Gained: Off-the-Tee (.942) and eighth in Driving Distance (316.5). So far this week, Young has felt that his strategy and short game has been up to the challenge as well.

"I think my course management has been very good and I think my wedge play has been very good," said Young. "Kind of everything, 100 yards and in, I feel like I've done pretty well with the short stuff.