After Cam Young’s final 10-footer for par dropped on the 18th hole, just barely sneaking in on the left edge, the 27-year-old knew he had just made history.
But just under five hours earlier when he was warming up for his third round at the Travelers Championship, breaking 60 was nowhere near his mind.
Young made seven birdies and two eagles at TPC River Highlands Saturday to vault into contention at the PGA Tour’s final 2024 Signature Event with an 11-under 59. He became the 12th different golfer to break 60 on the PGA Tour and the second to do so at TPC River Highlands.
But Saturday morning, he was just worried about making solid contact, he said afterward.
“Didn’t feel particularly awesome,” Young said of his pre-round warmup. “I chunked a few less on the range than I did yesterday.”
Hardly a confidence-inspiring warmup for a pro when the takeaway is that he hit a few less chunks. It’s not easy for most golfers to relate to someone who just shot a score in the 50s on the PGA Tour, but if there’s anything about Young’s historic day Saturday that weekend hacks can relate to, it’s hitting fewer chunks being a positive.
With a 9:45 a.m. tee time, just the 11th of the day, Young said he wanted to go back to sleep after his wake-up call.
He very well could have been asleep for the first four holes of his third round, because it was a dream start. Young birdied the first two holes and then jarred a pitching wedge from 142 yards for an eagle at the third. He added another birdie at the 4th to start five under through four holes.
“Came out and just was very comfortable and things just started coming down close to the hole,” he said.
Young said he never thought about breaking 60 during his round, but knew he could put together a special low round when he birdied the 8th and 9th holes to turn in 28. Shooting 59 didn’t cross his mind until he hit a 3-iron to seven feet on the 280-yard par-4 15th and made the eagle putt to get to 10 under on the round.
“I’ve hit that club everywhere and I finally hit one just straight at it,” Young said of the shot. “I think I said something to the effect of, just give me all the right bounces. And it did. I mean, where that ended up would be a great pitch from the front of the green. So it’s, you know, a really good swing and a great strike, but for it to end up somewhere that you can basically tap it in for 2 is not likely. You could hit that same shot a hundred more times and you would get two on that plateau right here.”
Golf is a funny game. You never know where you’re hitting one club, then you stuff it inside 10 feet from nearly 300 yards. Or you can’t find the clubface on the range and then you end up breaking 60.
