By Max Goodwin
For four days, 24-year-old Cameron Young led the field at Blue Hills Country Club in the AdventHealth Championship. It was his first win on the Korn Ferry Tour, as he shot 19-under par for the tournament, winning by two strokes.
As rain dropped sporadically throughout the tournament, and wind whipped through the fairways of Blue Hills, Young’s name remained at the top of the leaderboard. By the final day, when the sun broke through the clouds and the rain held off, Young had a solid crowd following him for his final round. He said there were more people at the event than he has seen at others around the country.
Young amazed Kansas Citians as he attacked greens they thought were unreachable off the tee, as he moved his shots right and left, wherever the course demanded.
“It’s a great course for shot shaping,” Young said. “There’s not that many straight holes, and the ones that are straight are really long. So, you have to move the ball right and left all day long, which is really fun.”
There was plenty of distance in Young’s drives to shape his shots around and over trees to his desired side of each hole. He drove the ball further off the tee than any player in the field. He made those long drives count, shooting 13-under through the tournament on par-5 holes, of which there are four on Blue Hills.
It was reiterated day after day, by more golfers than just Young, that the course could be unforgiving to those who end up hitting to the wrong side of a fairway. That’s why Young spent most of his practice time planning which side of the fairway to aim for, and which club to use.
“There’s a lot of holes out there where one side is jail and the other’s not,” Young said. “And we worked hard to avoid those spots that are jail all week.”
Young’s first victory on the Korn Ferry Tour moves him up the leaderboard from 70th entering the AdventHealth Championship to 26th as he leaves, just one spot outside the top 25 who at the end of the season will gain their PGA Tour card. He also walked away with a check of $121,500 in prize money.
It was a meaningful breakthrough tournament victory for Young, one that will stay with him. A native of Scarborough, New York, who went to college at Wake Forest, Young will cherish the memory of these four days at the top of the leaderboard in Kansas City.
“I love Kansas City,” Young said. “I’ll never forget it. Especially leading from day one. I’ll remember a lot of the shots I hit for the rest of my life.”