NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — It has happened in such a methodical, low-key manner and authored by perhaps the lowest-key player on the PGA Tour that it’s very easy to take for granted.
Cam Young, however, takes none of it for granted because of the grind it took to get here.
Here is No. 3 in the world rankings as a two-time winner already this year entering the PGA Championship, which begins Thursday at Aronimink, where he’s one of the favorites to win his first career major championship.
The New York Met Area has one of the very best players in the world in its midst.
But the journey has not been without its share of disappointments.
Young, the 29-year-old Westchester native who grew up playing at Sleepy Hollow Country Club under the wing of his father and club pro, David, finished second seven times before finally breaking through with his first career victory, at the 2025 Wyndham Championship.
One of those runner-up finishes came at the 2022 British Open at St. Andrews, where he shot a final-round 65, and then there was the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, where he finished one shot out of a playoff.
Then came this year, which has catapulted him into an entirely different stratosphere as one of the top players in the world.
That’s what winning the Players Championship will do for a player, not to mention a second win at the Cadillac Championship at Doral, where he dusted world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler by six shots. There have also been third-place finishes at the Masters and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
All of these successes, though, have not made Young forget about the struggles.
“I think any time you have to wait for something, it makes it better,’’ Young said Wednesday. “I think, in a sense, it would be harder if I had won a couple times early and then went a long time without winning. Now, I feel like having had several years build up to now winning a couple times pretty quickly, it makes it feel pretty good.
“To have gotten through what was at times quite frustrating and come out on the other side of it a better golfer and to have my name on a couple trophies to show for it definitely feels good,’’ he went on. “Given my first few years on Tour, it’s not too hard not to take it for granted. I’m well aware of how difficult it is to win a golf tournament out here.’’
This major championship, in particular, is a special one for Young, because his father spent two decades as the head pro at Sleepy Hollow and remains his son’s coach and was a very accomplished player in the Met Area.
“The PGA Championship, for our family, is a great week,’’ Young said. “My dad was a PGA of America professional forever. I kind of embraced the whole package of that. He was at a great club in New York, he worked on the rules committee (at PGA Championships). So, yeah, this week is special for us.
“Unfortunately, he never qualified for (a PGA Championship), but he was a very good player and had a number of chances to throughout his career. Yeah, it’s a cool one for us just given his connection.’’
Young on Tuesday enjoyed another local connection when he played a nine-hole practice round with Chris Gabriele, who he played with and competed against in Met Area tournaments for years.
Gabriele worked as an assistant for David Young at Sleepy Hollow from 2019-23 and is now the head pro at Old Westbury Golf and Country Club. He’s the only club pro from the Met Area who qualified for the PGA this year.
“I haven’t seen him in a couple years,’’ Young said. “We grew up playing some golf together up in the Northeast and went off to college. When he came back from college, he actually worked with my father at Sleepy Hollow for a couple of years as one of his assistants and I got to be around him a little then.
“It’s great to see him progress through the ranks in the PGA section up there. I’m really excited for him. He’s always been a good player, so no surprise that he qualified (for this PGA).
Young, who like his father is very introverted, is living a very new existence being recognized more often after his high-profile wins. A first major championship title, perhaps this week at Aronimink, would raise the profile even further.
“It’s nice for your work to be recognized,’’ he said. “It’s kind of remarkable how much more it’s recognized for winning versus coming in second. Obviously, there is a huge difference career-wise. But golf-wise, it’s small.
“I’ve enjoyed some of the good work that I’ve done to be recognized,’’ he said. “And on the other hand, it doesn’t change much. I don’t want to get caught in valuing that more than what I do each day and how I feel about the work that I’ve put in.’’
