Steady rain rolled into the Quad Cities late Friday and dampened any thoughts players may have had of catching Cameron Young. The reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year looks like his freshman self through the first two days of the 2023 John Deere Classic and enters the latter stages of the tournament with a two-stroke lead at 13 under.
Bursting onto the scene with his play at big-time tournaments such as the Genesis Invitational, PGA Championship and The Open, Young was labeled as a sure-fire winner coming into 2023. However, the anticipation of his march to the winner’s circle has yet to materialize — that is until maybe this week.
Outside a two-tournament stretch in which Young finished runner up to Sam Burns at the WGC-Match Play and inside the top 10 at the Masters, his season has been forgettable. He arrived at TPC Deere Run without a top-30 finish since the year’s first major championship and on the outside looking in for the U.S. Ryder Cup team in September.
Sometimes a player’s talent level just shines through, however. Young isn’t doing anything spectacular through 36 holes — he ranks ninth in strokes gained tee to green and eighth in strokes gained putting (which is great for him) — but still he finds himself alone at the top. While most of the game’s elites are preparing for the links golf test across the pond ahead of The Open, Young has his sights set on his first career win and preparing for the final major of the year in a different fashion.
The leader
1. Cameron Young (-13)
It has looked easy for Young so far; he’s carded 15 birdies against two bogeys. On paper, this was his tournament to lose, even if the odds said otherwise, as he is the clear class of the field when firing on all cylinders. He appears to have brought his A-game to TPC Deere Run, but it is the putter which will hold the keys to the kingdom. Young entered the week 177th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting.
“I feel like thinking about winning is not, like — I feel like you can be thinking about it without it being a bad thing,” Young said. “I think everybody came here this week to win a golf tournament, and in that way you’re all thinking about it right off the bat. Obviously I’m in a better position than you find yourself most weeks to do that, but that just really means I’m kind of accomplishing my goals thus far this week and doing my job well. So that’s all I can try to keep doing.”
Other contenders
T2. Adam Schenk, Garrick Higgo, Brendon Todd (-11)
T5. Ludvig Aberg, William Mouw, Denny McCarthy, Kevin Roy (-10)
9. Mark Hubbard (-9)
McCarthy got himself to 6 under in the early portion of the second round before disaster struck around the turn. Dropping a shot on the ninth and two more on the par-5 10th when his third found the penalty area, the 30-year-old went from contending to hoping to make the cut. Seven birdies across his final eight holes — including five straight from Nos. 11-15 — put to bed the thought of an early exit for the world No. 34. Having added this tournament to his schedule given the quality in his current play, McCarthy is right there yet again with a chance to raise his first trophy on the PGA Tour.
Young’s simple switch
For the best players in the world, it can be as simple as a new swing thought or alignment to get back on track. For Young, it was returning to the golf ball that served him so well in 2022. Young had been playing a Pro V1-X to accommodate firmer conditions at golf courses such as Riviera and Bay Hill, where long irons require more spin to hold putting surfaces. This week, however, he put the trusty Left Dot Pro V1 back in play, and the results have been glaring.
“I just went back to a ball that I played basically all last year. It’s very familiar,” said Young. “I think probably by the book suits me better than what I played for a little while. Yeah, it’s very familiar. It feels like I played it two weeks ago. It’s not like I have to relearn the whole thing.”
Aberg’s ascension to Rome
Another week, and another claim that Aberg should be on the European Ryder Cup Team come September. After tasting PGA Tour contention for the first time in his career last week, the Swede has bounced back with an appetite for more. Captain Luke Donald will face a difficult decision when it comes to his captain’s picks — especially since he got a front row seat to Aberg in Detroit — and he would be wise to infuse his side with youth.
“If you would have told me a month ago that I was going to be selected to the Ryder Cup, I wouldn’t believe you,” said Aberg. “So obviously all I can do is prepare for every tournament as good as I can and try to execute my game plan, but we’ll see where that comes. And if it comes, great; if not, I’ll be pretty happy anyways.”
2023 John Deere Classic updated odds and picks
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
- Cameron Young: 19/10
- Adam Schenk: 13/2
- Denny McCarthy: 7-1
- Brendon Todd: 11-1
- Ludvig Aberg: 11-1
- Garrick Higgo: 12-1
- Mark Hubbard: 25-1
Consistency has been rewarded in recent weeks on the PGA Tour, and that trend continues into the weekend. McCarthy’s fast finish to his second round will propel him to his first win as a putting contest is likely to unfold at TPC Deere Run. Young’s putter will cool off and allow McCarthy to more than make up the three-stroke deficit.