DORAL, Fla. — Cameron Young called a one-stroke penalty on himself when he caused his ball to move in the fairway on the second hole Sunday. Then he made par anyway.
That’s the kind of week Young had at the Cadillac Championship – completely dominant. He went wire-to-wire at Trump National Doral, closing with a 4-under 68 to finish at 19 under for the tournament, six shots clear of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
“When the golf course is difficult, when the conditions are difficult, that tends to make it easier for me mentally,” Young said.
The victory earned Young $3.6 million, his second-biggest payday after the $4.5 million he collected for winning The Players Championship earlier this year.
Former President Donald Trump arrived with several family members around noon and stayed until the tournament’s conclusion. He stood with the crowd as Young walked up the 18th hole, where fans were allowed to move into the fairway to watch the final putts of the week.
More than an inch of rain soaked the course early Sunday morning, delaying the final round by two hours from its already rescheduled 7:30 a.m. start time. The wet conditions tamed the Blue Monster considerably.
The scoring average dropped from around 71.3 over the first three rounds to just 69 on Sunday with preferred lies in effect. The notoriously difficult 18th hole, which yielded only nine birdies total during the first three rounds, gave up 12 birdies on Sunday alone.
Scheffler finished runner-up for the third consecutive start after falling to Rory McIlroy by one shot at the Masters and losing a playoff to Matt Fitzpatrick at Hilton Head. Unlike those near-misses, this one was never really close – Young’s performance was that commanding.
Young didn’t hesitate to call the penalty on himself at the second hole when his ball moved at address in the middle of the fairway.
“Your heart sinks when you see it move,” Young said. “But it moved. That’s part of what’s golf about. There’s no one who’s going to give me a penalty there but myself.”
Ben Griffin shot 68 to finish third at 12 under, while Si Woo Kim (70), Sepp Straka (66) and Adam Scott (64) tied for fourth at 11 under.
Scott Likely Secures U.S. Open Spot
Scott’s weekend charge of 66-64 likely secured his spot in the upcoming U.S. Open. His T4 finish should keep him comfortably inside the top 60 in the world ranking, which would qualify him for what would be his 100th consecutive major start, assuming he tees it up at the PGA Championship later this month.
“To win a major I’m going to need to put four days together, not just a weekend coming from behind,” said Scott, who won the World Golf Championships Cadillac Championship at Doral in 2016. “I feel like my game is there. I’m doing all the things that I think I need to do to be in that kind of contention.”
