Cameron Young had a great week, and it was almost even better. And with the pressure on late in his round at the Canadian Open, Young hit a shot that was too good.
The former Wake Forest standout came to the 508-yard, par-4 17th hole Sunday at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley only one shot behind leader Sam Burns, who was in the clubhouse after closing with 62.
But Young’s tee shot found foot-high grass right of the fairway. Instead of taking a drop as a CBS analyst advised, he powered the ball out 216 yards, then knocked an 88-yard shot to within 14 feet of the hole. He drained the putt to save par and go to the par-5 18th only one stroke behind.
With a great chance to at least force a playoff, Young nailed a 3-wood about 290 yards into the wind, over the green into high rough. Still alive, but needing a tricky shot to land short of the green, bounce on gently and trickle downhill toward the hole, he left the shot short of the putting surface, pitched up and two-putted for bogey.
With a birdie on the hole, Young would have advanced to a playoff with Burns and Ryan Fox, who made a 17-foot birdie putt in the final group at 18 and then won the four-hole playoff.
By making bogey, the 28-year-old New York native lost one of three qualifying spots offered for the British Open, where he finished second in 2022 at St. Andrews. He took home $441,000 from Toronto.
On Monday at U.S. Open Qualifying at Kinsale Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio, Young won a five-man playoff after 36 holes that included Rickie Fowler and Max Homa to claim the site’s final spot at Oakmont this week.
