Inclement weather rolled in on Friday evening and caused frustrating delays to round two of the Travelers Championship in Connecticut. That rain however, softened TPC River Highlands and the course was receptive on Saturday. Having seen Kim and Lowry hit 62s (-8), Cameron Young woke up this morning and chose violence. A blistering-hot start of five-under through his first four holes was the perfect platform as Young reached the promised land with a 59 (-11).
Just the thirteenth player to card the fabled sub-60 round, since Al Geiberger first shot golf’s “magic number” at the 1977 Memphis Classic, Young would build on his hot start with a seven-under front nine. A second eagle of the day on the 15th would help the ’21- ‘22 PGA Tour rookie of the year to reach the famous number and sign his name in the history books.
Speaking after his historic day Young was asked to sum up how it felt going about his round: “Yeah, it was good from the start,” he said. “I can’t say that I was expecting it. I’ve been playing better than my results have shown but, waking up this morning I wasn’t really thinking I was going to be five-under through four, and then kind of keep going so it was a lot of fun to do and I feel like I controlled my mind well all day.”
Scottie Scheffler had been the most recent sub-60 on the PGA Tour at the TPC Boston in 2020 in The Northern Trust. But for a seven-foot birdie miss on the 16th, Young could have gone one better and equaled Jim Furyk’s 58 at the Travelers in 2016 (he also had a 59 at the 2013 BMW Championship, making him the only man with multiple sub-60 rounds on Tour). Until today, twelve people had walked on the moon, and twelve people had carded sub-60 rounds on the PGA Tour. Cameron Young will have to come back to Earth after his historic day to go again on Sunday at the Travelers Championship.
Outside of the PGA Tour, just five others have bettered Young’s 59, with two from the Japan Golf Tour and Bryson DeChambeau equaling Furyk’s record 58 at the LIV Golf Greenbrier tournament in 2023. Dubliner David Carey’s 57 on the Alps Tour may have been equalled by Cristobal Del Solar on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this year, but it’s never been beaten in competition.
Young’s -11 rocketed him to the top of the leader-board while the leading groups were heading out for their tilt on moving day. With big names out around TPC River Highlands he will want to replicate his form tomorrow and keep up his momentum at the Travelers Championship. Seven birdies and two eagles today for Young, with no blemishes on his card, the 27-year-old will be in dreamland after his sublime Saturday showing.
“Honestly, not at all”, he replied when asked if he foresaw the magical number after his hot start. “I kind of was just thankful for the start. Whenever something like that, kind of goes in, it kind of just settled me, honestly. Like that one looked really good and recently those have ended up twelve feet and I’ve been missing so to see one disappear was a lot of fun and then from that point on its just try to keep playing solidly and that’s what I did.”
Asked how he approaches the final day and his mindset coming off such a stellar round: “I think, very much the same way I have approached the last bunch of rounds. I’ve had some mediocre results lately, but I feel like the golf I’ve played has been better than that. To have a day like today where things start going in and it feels like I’m rewarded for good shots, it leaves me with a good taste in my mouth for tomorrow. I’m excited to go play and I feel like I’m hitting it pretty well, so we’ll see what happens.”
A calm and composed Young keeping his feet firmly on the ground after a sparkling Saturday 59…
