Young, the quiet American who would not go away
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 [July 18, 2022] By
Ed Osmond
ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - Cameron Young was the surprise
British Open first-round leader who refused to go away quietly.
The American world number 32 scorched round St Andrews to card an
opening 64 and lead the Open on his first appearance at the
tournament.
Many people expected Young to struggle to cope with the pressure of
being on a leaderboard packed with some of the biggest names in the
sport.
But the 25-year-old hung in with rounds of 69 and 71 before eagling
the last hole on Sunday to complete a superb 65 and finish runner-up
to Australian Cameron Smith.
"I gave myself a really nice chance," Young told reporters.
"Frustrating to come up short. But overall I think I had a really
good week. And I think I hung in there really well today.
"It probably hurts a little worse to come up one shot short," he
said. "If you lose by eight you don't really care. But I played well
today. And I would have signed up for 65 this morning."
Young enjoyed seeing Smith put together the final-round 64 which
secured his first major title.
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Cameron Young of the U.S. in action on the 12th during the final
round REUTERS/Phil Noble
"To watch Cameron shoot what he did, it was pretty
amazing," Young said.
"I had a front-row seat to I'm sure one of the better rounds that's
been played this year. And we both started four back of two guys
that are capable of as much if not more than just about everybody
else in the world.
"Today is just more proof that Cameron Smith is one of the very,
very best players in the world."
Young knew his only chance of forcing a playoff was to eagle the
final hole.
"The way Cameron Smith chips and putts, I didn't really think he
would make a four," he said.
"I was just trying to get it there and trying to give myself some
kind of look, because obviously you never know. But just based on
how he was playing and kind of how that hole sets up, I think
there's a very, very good chance that two wasn't going to be
enough."
It wasn't enough, but Young believes his day will come.
"I guess one of these times I'll shoot six on the back on Sunday and
that will be enough," he said.
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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