After a scintillating 8-under 64 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead at the Cadillac Championship, Cameron Young picked up where he left off to begin his second round and quickly extended that advantage to create significant distance between himself and the field.
Young made four birdies in his first seven holes on Friday on his way to a second round 67 that moved him to 13 under and gave him a five-shot lead heading into the weekend.
Young’s torrid scoring pace slowed on the back nine as the breeze finally stiffened at Trump National Doral, creating some challenges for the players in the afternoon. As the conditions became tougher, Young’s abilities around the greens were able to shine and keep him on track for another round in the mid-60s.
That was particularly notable on the extremely challenging 18th as he hit his approach long and right, but was able to get up-and-down for par from the Bermuda rough with a gorgeous chip to inside a foot. After cleaning that up, Young signed for a 67 that got him into the clubhouse at 13 under. That is a lower score than the last three winners finished with over 72 holes at Doral back in the WGC days.
Young entered the week second in the odds as he seemed like a terrific course fit, as distance has always been a huge advantage on the lengthy Blue Monster. The irony in his performance thus far is that his driving has been the least consistent part of his game, but it’s his play everywhere else that’s making the difference.
“I think I just managed misses really well, I putted really well. I feel like I just took advantage of the opportunities I had,” Young said. “I didn’t hit it terrible but I just wasn’t consistently in position all day, I didn’t drive it amazing. I think that’s kind of what I would like to do better tomorrow.”
He’s leading the field in putting, fifth in strokes gained on approach and has gotten up-and-down 12-of-13 times, which is how you go about making just one bogey in your first 36 holes at a course with as much danger as the Blue Monster.
As he heads into the weekend with a big lead, Young will lean not just on his tremendous physical tools, but an improved mental approach to get him his second big event win of the season. Young has found a greater sense of calm on the golf course, which allows him to better handle pressure situations.
“I’ll take whatever I can get. I feel like I’ve been around the lead quite a bit, I’m not particularly uncomfortable,” Young said. “I’ve liked this golf course thus far. So that being said I’ll take whatever advantage you’re going to give me. There’s a lot of guys right there, four or five back, and I’m sure somebody will be 4-under through 5 tomorrow so you just have to be ready for that and go from there.”
That mentality will serve him well this weekend because even with a five-stroke lead, there’s nothing easy about finishing out a win on the PGA Tour — especially at a signature event.
Weekend contenders
T2. Nick Taylor, Jordan Spieth, Alex Smalley (-8)
5. Gary Woodland (-7)
T6. Scottie Scheffler, Si Woo Kim, Alex Fitzpatrick, Kristoffer Reitan, Taylor Pendrith, Brian Harman (-6)
While he couldn’t replicate his red-hot performance from Thursday, Jordan Spieth was able to stay in a tie for second with a 1-under 71, courtesy of a lengthy birdie roll on the last to create some positive momentum heading into the weekend. Spieth’s popped up on leaderboards a number of times this season early in the week, but we’ve yet to really see him string together four strong enough rounds to truly contend. That will be his challenge this weekend, but buoyed by some confidence with a new driver and new ball he seems to really like, he’ll try to put a little extra heat on Young with a big Moving Day.
Scottie Scheffler had a front-row seat to Young’s phenomenal play the first two days, and after the World No. 1’s latest slow start on Thursday, he kicked into gear with a bogey-free 67 on Friday to move into the top 10. Scheffler was able to get on track with his ball-striking, hitting 15 greens in the second round, and while he wanted to get a bit more out of his putter, he was able to move into striking distance heading into the weekend. While Scheffler has seven shots to make up, we’ve seen a number of times this season that once he gets things figured out on Friday he tends to keep that charge going on Saturday and Sunday to find himself in the mix late.
Perhaps the most surprising name in the top 10 is Alex Fitzpatrick, who is trying to make it three straight wins for a Fitzpatrick brother on the PGA Tour after earning his Tour card with a win alongside brother Matt last week at the Zurich Classic.
Updated Cadillac Championship odds, picks
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
- Cameron Young (5/11)
- Scottie Scheffler (7-1)
- Jordan Spieth (15-1)
- Gary Woodland (30-1)
- Nick Taylor (33-1)
- Si Woo Kim (33-1)
I liked Young entering the week and he’s proven to be in a different class through 36 holes, but at this point the opportunity to buy in on Young at value may be gone. Scheffler is certainly live and we know what he typically does on the weekend in this position. I think Kim and Woodland also could have a little value as sprinkles given Kim’s ability to take it deep and Woodland’s distance should present him with ample opportunities to put a dent in Young’s lead if the leader slips up at all. This certainly feels like it’s going to be a weekend where Young cements his place as one of the Tour’s top stars, but all year we’ve seen guys with big leads entering the weekend face significant challenges closing things out.