Cameron Young joins the PGA Tour’s elite club with historic Travelers round

Cameron Young is one of the strongest ball-hitters on the PGA Tour. When his putter gets rolling, he becomes a world-class talent. The 27-year-old’s performance was a historic example on Moving Day of the Travelers Championship.

In the sweltering temperatures of Cromwell, Connecticut, Young flirted with Jim Furyk’s 2016 record for the lowest single-round score in PGA Tour history – a final round of 58, also set at TPC River Highlands. Instead, Young settled for a par on the 18th hole and finished with an 11-under-par 59, the 13th sub-60 scorecard of all time.

“Suddenly, everything was possible,” said Young. “I had a putt for 59 on 18, which was a blast.”

Young started and stayed as hot as the 90-degree New England temperatures. He came out of the gates with birdies on the first two holes, then holed out from 142 yards on the par-4 third for an eagle. He made a birdie on the par-4 fourth.

He almost finished the par 3 8th hole with an ace, the par 4 9th hole and the par 5 13th hole both managed birdies. His eagle on the par 4 15th hole — yes, two eagles on par 4 — and a birdie on the par 4 17th hole put him in a position to equal Furyk’s mark.

Young’s errant drive from the 18th tee landed in the fairway bunker and he placed his approach shot in the rough just short of the green. He chipped to about nine feet of the hole and sank the putt just on the fringe, securing a place in golf history.

“I made a little bit, like 10, 11, 12. Not necessarily ‘under 60,’ but just ‘really good,'” Young said of the moment when the opportunity to make history came to mind. “Then I didn’t really think much about it until the putt went in on hole 15. Then I made two really good putts on hole 16 and 17. And then of course on hole 18.”

Young is one of the best hitters on the PGA Tour, but his work around the green has hurt his results. Young — ranked 23rd in the Official World Golf Ranking but 60th by DataGolf — ranks 49th in strokes gained: tee-to-green, 31st in strokes gained: off-the-tee and ninth in driving on the PGA Tour in 2024. He ranks 137th in putting and 130th in strokes gained: around-the-green at the Travelers.

Young was saved by his interlude at TPC River Highlands. He hit just six of 14 fairways, but managed 15 of 18 greens in regulation time. In the morning wave, Young ranked first in scrambling, first in strokes gained: approach and fifth in putting. He managed just 24 putts during his round.

After shooting 2 under par on Thursday and 4 under par on Friday, Young found himself 11 shots behind Tom Kim on Saturday. When Young left the 18th green, he was tied with Kim, who had not yet started his third round. A number of major champions who were at 11 under par, such as Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa, were just teeing off.

Scheffler scored his last 59 points on the PGA Tour at the Northern Trust in 2020.

“The last two days have been great,” Young said. “I’ve played really good golf. I think as far as my lifetime achievement goes, there are definitely some things that come before 59 for me. It’s a day. It’s a day of playing a million under par. It’s very cool and I’m grateful to have my name on that very short list, but there are whole tournaments that I’ve played that I would probably still rank higher.”

Young has made 15 of 16 cuts this year, although he has only really been competitive in one event: the Valspar Championship, where he finished second. His three other top-10 finishes came at the WM Phoenix Open (T8), the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches (T4) and the Masters (T9).

The 2021-22 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year is still looking for his first professional win.