Collin Morikawa predicted the scoring would only go down at The Travelers Championship over the weekend. On Saturday, Cam Young agreed with him.
Young attacked TPC River Highlands during the third round of the final signature event of the season, shooting an 11-under 59 to move up the leaderboard and tie Tom Kim’s 13-under overnight lead.
This year’s Travelers was already destined to be a wild shootout, but with Young’s 59 already in the clubhouse, it’s now lethal as defending champion Keegan Bradley’s 23-under winner finds himself in the line of fire.
The dismantling of the Connecticut course earned Young a coveted spot in an exclusive PGA Tour club, joining only 12 other players in breaking 60.
Heading out at 9:45 a.m. ET alongside Jordan Spieth in just the 11th pairing of the day, the 27-year-old set a blistering pace in equally scorching heat.
Cameron Young shot an 11-under 59 during the third round of The Travelers Championship.
Four hours before reaching the first tee themselves, leaders Tom Kim, Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler and Akshay Bhatia could only watch as Young put on a show.
And what a spectacle it was. Young plundered New England with seven birdies, two eagles, a testy par-putt on the last and without a single bogey in sight, working his way to tying Kim’s 36-hole lead before the 22-year-old had even hit the tee .
The explosive round was highlighted by the two eagles, neither of which came on either of TPC River Highlands’ two par fives.
The American holed out for eagle on the par-four third, landing his approach from 142 yards to within a few feet of the cup before it fell for a deuce.
His second came on the manageable par-four 15th, where he hit an iron shot 280 yards off the tee, which landed near the green before rolling onto the dance floor and stopping four feet from the holes. From then on, he was dancing.
With three holes remaining, he was 10 under par and within reach of a 59. Just one more birdie would be enough, and he finally landed on the 17th hole.
Another magnificent fairway iron stopped five feet from the hole. Young, calm and collected, he made the putt, taking a step to collect the ball before it reached the hole.
But not everything was completely stress-free. Young found the left green on the 18th tee, so he couldn’t find the green in two. Faced with a stressful up-and-down from 41 feet, his chip came up 10 feet short, but resisting the pressure, he rolled the putt downhill from right to left to secure the story.
The 27-year-old equaled Tom Kim’s 36-hole lead before even teeing off on Saturday. Young was left with a testy downhill putt on the 18th green to seal the historic 59th. He was not without stress, as the American found the left rough. from the 18th tee
“I didn’t really think much about it until the putt went in on 15,” Young admitted when asked if the prospect of a 59 had crossed his mind. ‘Then I made two really good putts on 16 and 17. .And then, obviously, also in the 18th.
“I didn’t think much about it halfway through the back nine, (…) suddenly everything was going after 10, 11, 12. Then all of a sudden I had a 59 putt on the 18th, which was wonderful.”
Young walked off the 18th green as the first player since Scheffler at the 2020 FedEx St. Jude Championship to shoot a 59. Scheffler, then a rookie on the PGA Tour, made 12 birdies at TPC Boston for a 59.
For Young, however, it’s not the highlight of his career. Not even his year. Maybe just his month.
“It’s certainly pretty good,” he said. ‘It’s fun to have your name on such a short list. But there are some full tournaments that I would probably rank higher in terms of overall achievements.
‘I feel like one day doesn’t necessarily guarantee the greatest achievement of a career. Without a doubt it is my maximum of the month. But I’m sure I’ll try to forget about it tomorrow and stick to my routine and see what I can do tomorrow.’
But Young’s round is not the lowest in PGA Tour history. It’s not even the record at TPC River Highlands. That belongs to Jim Furyk, who shot 58 in the 2016 Travelers’ final round.
Young came close to joining Furyk in the history books, but a missed two-meter shot in the 16th minute left him one behind.
The New York native missed a seven-footer at the 16th, leaving him one shy of Jim Furyk’s record. He reached 11 under par for the day by making a five-foot putt on the 17th.
But he admitted his overwhelming 59 may have come too late, as co-leader Kim has yet to be attacked at TPC River Highlands.
“It could be anywhere from two to 10, who knows,” Young said when asked how far back he thinks he could be on Sunday.
“I don’t think the wind is going to pick up much, I haven’t looked at the weather, but there is a group of world-class players who are already between nine and 13 under par. Someone at seven under par could also shoot 59 and I’m not even close again.
“So I would plan on not having to do something similar tomorrow, but if I’m going to have any chance of winning, I’m sure I’d have to shoot low again.”
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