ORLANDO, Fla. — It was a year ago this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational when Cameron Young’s career really started to pop.
He tied for 13th playing Bay Hill for the first time, which elevated his world ranking high enough to assure him an invitation into his first Masters.
What became a whiplash year of amazing firsts was ironically defined by a series of seconds for the 25-year-old Young, who grew up learning the game at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Briarcliff Manor under the guidance of his father David, who was the club pro for two decades.
Young finished runner-up in four tournaments last season, including his solo second in the British Open at St. Andrews, where he shot 31 on the back nine of the Old Course and was barely beaten by Aussie Cameron Smith.
Though Young, ranked 16th in the world, is still seeking his first PGA Tour victory, those second-place finishes were critical in his elevation to raising his ranking and profile and playing the biggest events in the world.
And he excelled in a few of them, nearly winning the PGA Championship before finishing a shot out of a playoff and taking third place.
“I feel like I did play really nicely last year,’’ Young said Wednesday after his Arnold Palmer Invitational pro-am round. “I think there is some emphasis put on me trying to win for the first time, which of course I am. But I think, for me, I have to look at it as I could win a golf tournament this year and not necessarily be any better than last year. I don’t know if it is a mark of improvement for me in that sense.“I think obviously you have to play some tremendous golf to win out here and I played some tremendous golf last year. I just happened to get beat by one guy a few times.’’
His takeaway from the near misses at Southern Hills and St. Andrews?
“That winning an event like that is something I can do,’’ Young said.
Asked which loss at the two majors in which he came so close hurt the most, the PGA, at which his double bogey on 16 derailed him, or the British, Young said: “It’s hard to say. At the Open Championship I was right there the whole week and at PGA I kind of felt like I snuck up and all of a sudden had a chance to win. So, they’re very different.
“Neither of them really hurts anymore. … I understand at this point how well I played and how much opportunity that’s provided me moving forward. So, I’m not necessarily still upset about either of them. I think I’m able to look back and realize that I played some great golf and had some good opportunities. The more of those I have, the better.’’
One of the moments when Young realized he was no longer a low-ranked grinder seeking PGA Tour playing status came as a member of the Presidents Cup team, alongside stars such as Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau.
That week felt light years from 2020, when he had no status on any tour and was playing in Monday qualifiers to get into Korn Ferry Tour events.
“A week like [the Presidents Cup] is very unique for someone like me,’’ Young said. “As a rookie on the PGA Tour, those aren’t necessarily the dinner tables you kind of picture yourself sitting at starting out. It was huge for me just to kind of get more comfortable out here. Not only in a golf sense, but on a personal level too.’’
A year later, Young, who was wooed by the mega-bucks LIV Golf tour and opted to remain on the PGA Tour, is in all the big events and looks more comfortable in his own skin.
A year ago at Bay Hill, The Post was the only interview request he had before the tournament began. On Wednesday, the PGA Tour brought him into the media center for a full-scale interview.
“Right about this time last year is when stuff was coming at me pretty fast,’’ Young said. “It was only a few weeks before this that I really assured myself a place in The Players, which is a huge deal your first year. Then to get into Augusta is a huge bonus. I think I kind of let it come to me a little bit last year, which is a hard thing to do.
“It’s obviously been an interesting two years. I’m very fortunate to be where I am. There are so many things along the way that could have gone just slightly wrong and I wouldn’t be sitting here. So, it’s easy to look back and think about how much more I could have done with my year last year. And at the same time, it just wouldn’t have taken much for me to not even have the opportunity to play on the PGA Tour or on the Korn Ferry Tour at that time.
“So, I look back just with gratitude that things worked out the way they did and I have the opportunities that I have today.’’