By Kyle Feldscher, CNN
Atlanta (CNN) — On the 18th hole, Cameron Young’s sloping, sliding, quick eagle putt from about 42 feet hit the back of the cup, an exclamation point on an 8-under round that sent him from last to first.
He pulled the ball out of the hole, shook hands with his caddie, pulled off his hat and shook hands … with no one.
After shooting even par on Thursday, Young was in 29th place at the Tour Championship at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club. That meant he’d have the first tee time on Friday morning and be playing alone, because J.J. Spaun withdrew after six holes on Thursday with pain in his shoulder.
He proceeded to absolutely catch fire with birdies on seven of the first 11 holes and an eagle on 18. One bogey on the par-four 12th was the only blemish on his scorecard.
“It’s a bit strange. I’ve never done it before,” Young told CNN Sports’ Patrick Snell about playing alone. “Once you kind of get over the fact that they just announced one person on the first hole, it’s kind of more like a practice round. We play a lot of practice rounds just on my own. Yeah, I felt like, especially with it going well, it was really easy to keep going.”
It’s a feeling that golfers both love and loathe – the feeling of getting on a heater while playing as a single. On one hand, there’s the nice rhythm Young mentioned and the feeling of confidence it brings. On the other hand, there’s the nagging thought that no one will believe the final scorecard because there wasn’t someone around to witness it.
The latter issue was not a problem for Young on Friday as his gallery grew and grew as he blazed around the scenic 18 holes at this exclusive Atlanta country club. By the time he got to the 18th green and his putt hit the bottom of the cup, the roar could be heard across the grounds.
“It makes it easier because you’re not waiting on anybody. You kind of just like – you just keep going. You don’t do anything that isn’t at your own pace. You’re never waiting. You’re never rushing. In that sense, it’s pretty nice,” he said.
Young’s 62 was enough to put him into the clubhouse lead, a spot he didn’t expect to hold for long given that other players were still on the course and East Lake was yielding birdies left and right. But for a few moments, it was a nice respite from a frustrating few weeks.
The native New Yorker told reporters after the round that he’s been upset with himself for four or five weeks because he’s fallen off the blistering pace he set at the beginning of the season. He won twice – at The Players Championship and the Cadillac Championship – and had six other top-10 finishes, including second place at the British Open and third at the Masters.
But the last few weeks have been tough on Young, finishing way out of the running three weeks in a row. That rut continued when he started on Thursday and bogeyed three of the first five holes.
The weird situation of playing alone at a tournament for the first time was a welcome change of pace.
“From a mental perspective, good golf fixes just about everything,” he said. “Playing by yourself, it’s strange for a second. Kind of when you see the pairing, it’s strange; and then once you get into it, like I said, you don’t have to wait. You don’t have to rush. You can kind of just do everything you’d like to do the whole day. So, it’s easy in that sense.”
For a while, it looked like Young might be able to reach golf’s hallowed mark of breaking 60 and shooting a 59 – something he admitted to having crossed his mind while on the course. “We all think about that. You have thoughts that enter your mind, and you have to think about them,” he admitted. A wayward approach shot on 12 found a bunker, leading to that bogey.
Still, a 62 was enough to put him back where he likes to be: Near the top of the leaderboard. And while his prediction that he wouldn’t be in first long came true – he was joined at 8-under quickly as the second round of this season-ending tournament continued – he’s at least in contention.
Safe to say that he won’t have another lonely round the rest of the way.
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