Caddyshack or Tin Cup? Top PGA Tour golfer has all the answers on eve of Wells Fargo event

There are a lot of good stories at the Wells Fargo Championship every year in Charlotte, but today I’m going to tell you just one.

This one is about Cameron Young, a 25-year-old PGA Tour golfer who went to Wake Forest and has broken into the world’s Top 20 with a bunch of big-time results, including six times where he’s finished in second place.

What Young doesn’t have yet, though, is a PGA Tour win.

On Sunday, Young turns 26. Sunday, by coincidence, is also the final round of this year’s Wells Fargo tournament at Quail Hollow Club. A first win on his birthday?

“That’d be a nice present,” Young said.

If you’re looking for a fresh face to cheer on this weekend, you won’t do much better than Young. He’s thoughtful, funny and already the father of two boys, ages 16 months and five months.

“Neither of them sleep yet,” Young said. “So I’m running on fumes pretty much all the time. But they’re a blast.”

Now No. 16 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Young was heavily pursued by the LIV Golf tour in 2022.

It would have been a feather in the cap for LIV to grab a new star like Young, who was soon to be named the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year with 94% of the vote. Young graduated with an economics degree from Wake Forest, and economically it wasn’t difficult to understand how lucrative LIV could be for him, his wife Kelsey and their young family.

“Everybody knows that they’re filling guys’ pockets pretty well,” Young said of LIV.

Ultimately, though, Young turned the millions down and stayed on the PGA Tour.

Said Young, explaining that decision: “The PGA Tour is where the highest level of golf is. Even missing a few guys (due to LIV signing up some top players), it’s still not even close. So it kind of came down to a little bit of self-belief…. It’s just where I felt like I belonged, it’s where I wanted to play…. I was OK with the risk. And it’s worked out really well.”

Those words, and Young’s other quotes in this column, came from the Hood Hargett Breakfast Club event in Charlotte he and I both attended at Carmel Country Club on Tuesday morning. I asked Young questions for a half-hour on stage for The Charlotte Observer, and Young then took a few questions from the crowd of 250 people.

Given that PGA Tour pros often don’t say a lot more then what club they used on their approach shot at No. 18, I found Young’s candor refreshing.

Here are some of the questions and Young’s answers, edited for clarity and brevity.

Q: Caddyshack or Tin Cup?

A: Caddyshack. I’ve definitely seen “Caddyshack” more times, and I feel like it doesn’t really get any less funny.

Q: If you were going to tell a recreational golfer the best way to shave five strokes off his or her game, what would you say?

A: Two things. One is mechanical, one is strategic.

Anyone can have a technically sound setup. And from there, it just makes it easier to have a good golf swing. So learn to set yourself up more.

As for play strategy: Amateurs waste a lot of strokes around the greens. Bogeys are OK. We’re like that, too, on tour. I can make a bogey and be all right with it. Double bogeys are no good. If you’re in a mediocre spot, get something on the green and 2-putt for bogey. That’s not the end of the world. You just can’t be making 7s and 8s.

Q: You grew up in the state of New York?

A: Yes. My father (David) is a PGA professional, and he worked in New York at Sleepy Hollow for about 21 years as a head professional. So I grew up playing there. We lived right on the property from when I was about 13-14 on…. Golf was very much in my family…. I always kind of say I had no choice (laughs).

PGA professionals are there from sunup to sundown every day, so my time to spend with him was to sneak out and play three or four holes at eight o’clock at night in the summer. I loved golf from a very early age.

Q: Who would you play with in your ideal foursome?

A: I would say my Dad and my two kids — about 15 years from now. But professionally, I never got to meet Arnold Palmer. I think that’d be awesome. And then Jack Nicklaus, in his heyday. And Lee Trevino. I’ve gotten to be around him a little bit, and he’s hilarious.

Q: Given you’re from New York, how’d you end up at Wake Forest (where he teamed with Will Zalatoris, currently No. 9 in the OWGR)?

A: A lot of reasons. I always loved North Carolina. I have some family that lives not far from here. I like being in the South. Being from New York, it’s a little bit faster-paced. Down here, people are a little nicer. They talk a little slower. And Wake has great practice facilities, right on campus. I really liked the coach. It was just a good fit.

Q: You’re a very long hitter, and you’ve said previously that you were taught to hit the ball hard first, and figure out where it was going later. Where does your power come from?

A: Not the gym. I hate the gym (laughs).

I do not work out, really at all (in terms of lifting weights). But yeah, honestly, my Dad kind of taught me that way, to do it hard. As you get older, it’s harder and harder to teach speed and power. When you’re young, you can learn movement patterns so quickly. So I was really taught to hit it as hard as I could, and then refine the mechanics later.

Q: You played the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow in 2022. What is this course like?

A: It’s a big, big golf course. Those three holes at the end (The Green Mile) are very special. They’ve gotten a bunch of rain here, so I’m sure it’ll be a little bit softer than they want it to be and it’ll play pretty long. I’m excited about it.

Q: One of your sponsors is Major League Baseball. Can you go to any MLB game you want to?

A: They did me a huge favor, becoming my first sponsor, when I turned pro and had about 90 bucks to my name. I haven’t actually asked about going to games. I grew up loving the Yankees, so that would be fun at some point.

Q: You changed caddies not long ago, going to Paul Tesori, who was Webb Simpson’s caddie for nearly 13 years. How did that happen?

A: Honestly, it started with Webb (who, like Young, went to Wake Forest, and who has mentored Young some on tour). Webb was kind of looking to play a lot less. And caddies’ incomes are tied to their player’s income….

So Webb was looking out for Paul…. Webb called me and basically ended up asking, “Hey, is there any chance that you would take Paul from me?” And I said, “Well, yeah.”... Paul brings a lot of experience to the table. Our first nine holes together, I think I shot a 27. So golf-wise, it’s been pretty good.

Q: Does being a runner-up six times on the PGA Tour without a victory bother you?

A: Makes me sad every time I hear it (laughs).

No, it’s not something that I really think about…. I haven’t had one in my hands and given it away. I’ve just kind of been beaten a lot. I’m looking forward to the day that I’ve got a one-shot lead with three holes to go, and it’s my job to finish it off.