AUGUSTA, Ga. – In most methods, Cameron Young feels the identical. He nonetheless takes his household, together with his three youngsters, to mass on Sunday mornings, even earlier than last rounds on the PGA Tour. He nonetheless hangs with the identical small group of mates on tour, and the remainder of his friends don’t deal with him any otherwise. Sure, he was requested to be amongst a choose few Masters opponents invited into the interview room for a pre-tournament press convention, however he experiences no extra discomfort within the highlight than earlier than.
The solely distinction now could be the quantity subsequent to his identify: 3.
Young enters his fifth begin at Augusta National ranked behind simply two gamers on this planet rankings, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. Before this latest skyrocket, Young hovered for some time within the excessive teenagers and low 20s, then dipped at the beginning of final yr. He missed the reduce at the Masters a yr in the past, however caught a spark at Oakmont, tying for fourth at the U.S Open, his sixth profession main top-10. Then got here his breakthrough win at Wyndham, adopted by 5 straight finishes of eleventh or higher, his sturdy Ryder Cup debut, then most just lately, a validating triumph at The Players Championship, which has Young on a really brief listing to not simply win a inexperienced jacket this week however each time he tees it up.
With Scheffler just lately welcoming his second little one and looking out to rediscover the entire ball-striking that for years was considerably higher than anybody else and McIlroy coming off a minor again difficulty and now confronted with a couple of additional duties bestowed upon previous Masters champions, one might argue that Young is the most logical favourite heading into Thursday’s opening spherical.
Tee occasions and featured teams for the opening spherical of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
“If anything, it’s where I feel like I want to be within the game of golf and where I feel like I can be,” Young mentioned.
Young is a spitting picture of his dad, David, a PGA grasp professional and his son’s teacher. He’s inclined to not say an entire lot, although in the precise setting, like Tuesday morning, he can produce some stunning depth. The Masters is a bucket-list second, even for the world’s finest, however as Young contends, “It’s just another week.”
“My attitude generally has been, 51 weeks of the year, it’s the Masters and it’s Augusta National, and this week it’s my job,” Young mentioned. “I’m going to do what I feel is best for me to prepare for Thursday.”
Since final yr’s Masters, Young’s iron play has been noticeably extra constant. He’s studied extra about how wind impacts method photographs, and it’s no surprise he arrives this week rating second on Tour in proximity to the outlet. The energy, in fact, remains to be there, and with Augusta National anticipated to play agency and quick, Young might give himself even shorter golf equipment into the par-4s and -5s.
Most opponents will inform you that Augusta National is a second-shot golf course. Young believes that the driving force units up these potential rewards. Absolute precision isn’t required, Young says, however angles and discovering good spots within the fairway are necessary.
One might argue that that is the most wide-open Masters in latest reminiscence, and here’s a rating of all 91 gamers within the discipline at Augusta National.
“It’s really a matter of, for me, being in a place where I feel like I can make a good free movement of the golf ball,” Young mentioned. “If my swing feels like that mechanically, that’s where I’m going to hit a lot of shots really out of the middle of the face.”
That breeds confidence, which Young possesses in spades. He at all times has; it’s simply all these shut calls by no means went his means till the previous couple of months. Young did admit that the Ryder Cup was a giant step.
“There’s no real greater pressure or sense of gravity of a situation than you get at a Ryder Cup,” Young mentioned. “It’s kind of unlike anything I’ve felt before in a sense. I don’t feel that physically I respond to the pressure any differently, but it’s really good practice being in that moment because there’s just more of it. You might be nervous on Sunday at a major coming down the back nine, but it’s rare that you’re just at full nervousness from the first tee shot. So, I think it’s good preparation in that sense. You learn to deal with pressure right off the bat, and it kind of doesn’t go away throughout the whole day. So, you do feel like it’s just constant preparation for being near the lead at The Players or in a major.”
He put that to the take a look at at TPC Sawgrass and proved himself on one of many sport’s greatest phases.
Now, it’s his flip to deal with the Masters as one of many guys to beat – and possibly come Sunday afternoon, the identify that everybody is chasing.
