NAPA, Calif. (AP) — On Long Island, Bethpage Black is a big course that made a kid feel small. 5-year-old Cameron Young was holding his father's hand on Father's Day 2002 as they watched Tiger Woods win the U.S. Open. It was his first taste of golf at its finest. He was already hitting practice balls until his small hands ached, hitting a wedge into a 55-gallon drum from 30 yards.
A clearer memory comes from 2013, when the PGA of America announced that golf's most boisterous event, the Ryder Cup, would be played in 2025 at Bethpage Black, with its raucous New York fans feeling like they owned the state course. At the time, he was a high school student, good enough and old enough to dream, even though it seemed a distant future. "That course is where our State Open was held every year.
“It was the big tournament for me at the time,” said Young, who in 2017 became the first amateur to win the New York State Open with a record-tying 64 on the Black. “I knew that course was a major championship course, and that was my route to playing it.” But a Ryder Cup? “At the time, I thought, ‘I’d like to be there in September 2025,’” he said, smiling. “It’s been a long road.”
Return to New York
Cameron Young is a true New Yorker. He's the son of the Sleepy Hollow golf pro. He took the train to school at Fordham Prep in the Bronx. From a young age, he was a fan of the Yankees, Rangers, and Giants, playing hockey and baseball when he wasn't golfing. "We're very proud to have a New Yorker on our team and to have him represent his country at Bethpage Black," said Keegan Bradley when announcing Young as one of his selections. Although the journey took 12 years, it all came together in three months. At the beginning of May, Young was ranked 67th in the world, not even eligible for the final two majors of the year.
He wasn't in the Ryder Cup conversation, but his determination to have a chance in his native New York was unwavering. Big pressure required small steps. “Breaking par a couple of days in a row, hitting good shots, putting together a good week,” Young said. “We started doing those little things better and better and built confidence.”
In May, he earned his first top-10 finish in four months at the Truist Championship. A month later, as a U.S. Open qualifier, he holed three of his last four holes to enter a 5-for-1 playoff and then made a 12-foot birdie to advance to Oakmont, where he tied for fourth. He also tied for fourth in Canada, securing a spot in the British Open. Then came his first PGA Tour title at the Wyndham Championship in August, where he won by six strokes.
“I had to win something just to put myself in the conversation,” Young said. The answer became increasingly clear as he followed that victory with three solid postseason performances. Then he got the call from Bradley with the best news of his career, even better than his first tour win. “This particular Ryder Cup—in New York, at Bethpage—is very special to me,” Young said on the day he was selected. “I’ve been imagining the moment I could get a call to play for the team for a long, long time.”
Family matters
This is truly a family celebration. David Young, his father, recently retired as director of golf at Sleepy Hollow. He's been the only coach his son has ever had, a patient voice in frustrating moments, like seven second-place finishes without doing much wrong.
Young averaged 66.7 on those lost Sundays. It was always someone else's turn. His mother, Barbara, grew up surrounded by golf at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey and ran the women's Central Florida Challenge mini-tour for 13 years in the Orlando area. His father taught the swing. His mother provided support, often as his caddie. "The first tournament we took Cam to, he was 9," he recalled. "There was a practice round, and he was paired with a father and son, and the father was micromanaging the kid.
“I pulled him aside and said, ‘Cam, I’m your caddie. You’re the player. That’s the way it is. Every decision is yours, but you can ask me what I think. But if you misbehave, I’m still your mom.’” This was never about grooming an only child for greatness. His mother saw enough talent to think Young could enjoy the game wherever it took him.
David Young recalls a family trip to Scotland when his son was 13. It rained every day except the last, as they played at places like Crail, Gleneagles, North Berwick, and St. Andrews. The weather was miserable. His son was soaked. “He had a big smile on his face wearing a bucket hat,” David Young said.
“I was thinking after six days of rain, I'd never want to play golf again. On the plane ride home, he leaned over and said, 'I think I'm going to make golf my main sport.'” This led him to Wake Forest (and earning a degree in economics in four years) and then to the PGA Tour, where he was rookie of the year in 2022 after nearly winning two majors. Young is 28, an old soul who doesn't talk much but always gets straight to the point. He lives in South Florida with his wife and three children, ages 3, 2, and 1. He's not on social media and isn't interested. His phone is mostly used to check his tee times and text his wife.
“I prefer to keep things simple,” he said. “My attention is either on my kids or my work.” Now, his focus is on earning Ryder Cup points at Bethpage Black, a course an hour from where he grew up, a course he first saw at age 5 and has loved ever since. “He’s had his eye on this since high school,” Barb Young said. “The fact that it’s come to fruition blows us away. I’m so happy for him and Dave. I know firsthand, from being in golf, what it takes to make it. Not everyone gets that reward. It’s a sweet blessing for the family.”
