Cameron Young Jumps Into Contention With East Lake 62

About 3 1/2 hours before Cameron Young sat down for his post-round press conference Friday, he said he was in last place at the TOUR Championship. He finished the day tied for fifth and only two shots off the lead after an 8-under 62 that was the low round of the day.

Young did not offer one explanation for the eight-stroke swing. He hit the ball a little better, made a few more putts and caught nearly all of it in the same stretch. Through 11 holes, he was already 7 under for the round.

At No. 18, Young rolled in a 41-foot, 7-inch eagle putt, moving to 8 under for the tournament after an opening 70 had left him tied for 27th.

“I think I can pat myself on the back for shooting 8-under, but that doesn’t change how much work there is left to even give yourself a chance,” Young said.

Young allowed himself a little satisfaction and stopped there. The 62 pulled him back into the tournament with plenty still to do.

Cameron Young at East Lake From 70 to 62 one round later ROUND 1 70 Even par
Tied for 27th ROUND 2 62 8 under
Low round of the day by three

Thursday Never Became 77

The bounce-back started before Young made his first birdie Friday. It started Thursday, when an awful beginning could have removed him from the tournament before the second round.

“I could have just shot 77 and ended my tournament, but I didn’t,” Young said. “I kind of fought back and shot even-par.”

An even-par 70 looked poor beside the scores at the top of the board. Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup opened with 64s, and Young found himself tied for 27th. Yet his own review of the round was more useful than the position suggested. He believed he played fine after the bad start and had not played terribly overall.

That is a far better place to begin the next round than assuming an even-par score requires emergency work on the range. A player who treats every disappointing number as proof that the swing is broken can spend the next morning searching for something that was never lost. Young needed the good swings and made putts to arrive closer together.

They did. Young hit 13 fairways and 14 greens in regulation during the second round. His explanation for an eight-shot improvement was almost deliberately plain.

“To make an eight-shot difference, it’s not going to be one thing,” Young said. “Just hit it a little better and made a few putts.”

The putting part carried extra interest because Young made a change this week. He switched to a model with a simpler look, although he said it has the same footprint and shape as his previous putter. It was not a Friday-morning reaction to the 70. Young pulled it from the bag Monday, hit a few putts and never returned the other one.

He also arrived at East Lake after four or five weeks of mounting frustration. Young said he felt he had played reasonably well and putted poorly, producing finishes he considered unacceptable. That previous month still happened. The 62 finally gave him a result that matched more of the golf he believed he had been playing.

TOUR Championship Young is two shots from the lead

Position	Player	Score
T1	Ryan Gerard	-10
T1	Viktor Hovland	-10
T3	Collin Morikawa	-9
T3	Chris Gotterup	-9
T5	Cameron Young	-8
T5	Scottie Scheffler	-8

One Player, No Waiting