ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Cameron Young, the 25-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Westchester, is leading the British Open.
Young shot a blemish-free 8-under-par 64 in Thursday’s opening round at the Old Course at St. Andrews in his first career British Open. When he walked off the course, Young had a three-shot lead over Australian Cameron Smith, who shot a 5-under-par 67.
“I’m happy I shot 64, I’m happy that, as far as I know, I’m still leading The Open Championship, but it’s not going to change how I feel an hour from now,” Young said. “I mean, it might change how I feel on the first tee a little bit (Friday), but I’ll forget about it very quickly.”
Young has had some kind of year, posting three runner-up finishes and two third-place results, one of which was at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills, where he had a piece of the lead on the 15th tee in the final round.
That experience was immeasurable for Young.
“I think any time you’re around the lead in a major championship or any PGA Tour event, frankly, you get more and more comfortable every time,” Young said. “Whether I’m leading by three or one or four back after today, I’ll sleep just fine. I feel like I’ve been around, even though it’s only been most of the year, I’ve been around the lead a good bit, and I think we’ll just take (Friday) as it comes. That’s really all I can control.”
This is Young’s second trip to St. Andrews. He came as a 13-year-old with his parents, David and Barbara, on a family golf trip.
“I think we played eight or nine golf courses in six days – here at the New (Course), the Old (course), we played Kingsbarns, Carnoustie, Gullane,” he said. “On that trip, the first time I got to be out here, my dad, I think, asked for permission to play from the back tees. I think that’s something you have to do, if I remember correctly.
“So, when we came out to hit our first tee shots with the R&A building right there, there were a bunch of R&A members presumably watching. And I’m glad I didn’t know; I’m sure I would have been nervous out of my mind. But I think there’s a picture of me hitting there with a bunch of those guys watching. That’s really my first memory of here.
“I’ve always loved golf over here,” Young went on. “I think it’s a very unique experience compared to what we’re used to in the States. Yeah, I have a lot of good memories from that trip from playing in the rain and the wind and the cold. The first experience over here for me is one I’ll remember a lot. I think just the unique kind of golf that you play over here is very special.”