'A lot of anger' for Cameron Young after baffling shot, but trending into Oakmont
Cameron Young had feasted on par-5s through three and a half days at the RBC Canadian Open, playing the three-shotters in a combined 7 under. He kicked off Sunday's final round at TPC Toronto with an eagle at the first hole, where he stuffed a 175-yard approach to a couple feet.
With just the par-5 finishing hole left and a shot back of clubhouse leader Sam Burns, Young seemed highly capable of at least equaling Burns at 18 under, especially after he pounded a 313-yard drive to leave himself 260 yards to the hole.
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Young still doesn't seem certain of what happened next.
He hit a 3-wood into the wind that flew the green, traveling 286 yards and ending up in rough so deep that he couldn't get his first chip to the green. He'd bogey the hole, card 65 and settle for a disappointing T-4 finish, two shots out of the playoff between Burns and Ryan Fox.
'This very moment, a lot of anger, a bit of frustration,' Young told reporters afterward. 'I couldn't have hit two better shots on the last hole. I don't hit 3-wood that far, and it's blowing straight into the wind, and it decided to bounce all the way to the back woods. I thought in the air I was going to have about a 12-footer to win the tournament, and it ended up somewhere I was going to struggle to make par, let alone make a 4. Pretty upset. Played pretty well.
'Kind of just want to go home right now.'
Only Young will now head to Oakmont for the U.S. Open, which he qualified for last Monday. His finish Sunday also locked up a spot in next month's Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
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Young said he'll stay mad for about 15 minutes before turning the page to Oakmont, which he's never played but feels like it sets up well for how he's playing at the moment.
He entered Canada ranked No. 166 in strokes gained approach before ranking No. 34 in that stat at TPC Toronto. He also was third in strokes gained off the tee and seventh in putting.
Young has not notched a top-30 in his last five major starts since his T-9 at the 2024 Masters. He also has struggled in U.S. Opens with a best finish of T-32 out of five tries.
'My game is in totally different shape than it was a couple months ago,' Young added. 'I've come a very, very long way on execution of all the iron play, in particular. I've been putting really well this year. So nice to see that kind of come back to me. Seems to be giving me some decent chances to have nice tournaments.
"... I feel like all the parts of my game are in a place where I can be in a similar position next week, and I expect to do that."
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