HONDA CLASSIC

February 22, 2022

Cameron Young

PGA National Resort

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Cameron Young to the interview room here at the Honda Classic. Cameron's coming off a T-2 finish last week at the Genesis Invitational.

So, Cameron, you jump to No. 53 in the World Ranking, what's the last 36 hours been like for you coming off that strong finish?

CAMERON YOUNG: It's been very rewarding, I think. Recently I've played a ton of good golf the weeks leading up to that and then obviously for that to be the week that you kind of get the ball in the hole and finish second is very rewarding for, I mean, just to see the World Ranking and the FedExCup points and just kind of the things that come with playing well, it's nice that that's where that happened for me.

THE MODERATOR: You mentioned you're up to No. 53. You can get into THE PLAYERS Championship in a few weeks, obviously, with a top-50 finish. Is that kind of on your mind this week as you go through the tournament or just trying to focus on the golf?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yes and no. I mean, trying to focus mostly on what we've done to get better over the last month or so. We played some really good golf, I think we're just learning out here and getting better on a consistent basis.

So I think we're really just trying to keep moving forward with a lot of the things we've learned and some of the things we've done better over the last month that have produced some good golf.

Q. Last one, making your tournament debut here at the Honda Classic, but you do have some positive memories at PGA National winning on the AJGA here in 2013. What kind of memories did that bring up when you returned to the property this week?

CAMERON YOUNG: Definitely good ones. I know that week from that week that this place is always a grind, in the wind I know it's tricky, so I'm sure it will be much the same this week and I'm really just looking forward to the battle that I know it will be out there.

THE MODERATOR: We'll take some questions.

Q. Just to make sure that was on the Champion Course?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yes.

Q. What did you learn about yourself overall four days last week at the Riv?

CAMERON YOUNG: I mean, I think it is just proof that I can play at a level good enough to win on pretty much any golf course out here. That one I know is one of the harder ones on TOUR and I know that the score I shot wins most of the time out there.

Joaquin was going to be very hard to beat the way he was playing, but I think it just proves that, at least to myself, that I can stay with anybody and have a chance to win just about anywhere.

Q. I think about this time, maybe a little more back, you were ranked in the high 400s last year. Was that a difficult time to get through that stretch?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I mean it was -- I had a rough stretch of golf for sure kind of this time of year last year on the Korn Ferry TOUR. I think I was in a very different place physically and mentally. I mean mit's been pretty much nothing but up since then. Things keep getting better, I keep playing better, my life keeps getting better.

So I think that was definitely a hard stretch, but it's something that I learned from and something that is part of the reason I'm here today.

Q. Can I get the age of your young one and the name and you said "physically," did you have any physical injury going on?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I've had like some small back issues that just, at times, when you're on the road for six weeks in a row, can be annoying, but nothing major.

And then baby's named Henry. He's two months old.

Q. What was it like going seeing him every day?

CAMERON YOUNG: It's really nice. They're such a great distraction off the golf course, especially last week, being around the lead for basically four straight days, being able to go back to where we're staying and just hang out with my wife and hang out with the baby and just take my mind off golf and enjoy my family has been really nice.

Q. Obviously as you alluded to, Riv isn't an easy golf course, neither is this place. What makes this so difficult, especially in a back-to-back week, Riv, cross country travel and now the Champion Course?

CAMERON YOUNG: I think a lot of it has to do -- I mean, you have such a good golf course, you have some holes that are challenging with no wind and then you add in a little bit of nerves and a little bit of wind and it just gets to be a completely different golf course.

I know the greens will be firm and fast, I know the rough typically is pretty thick, so it just is demanding all day long. You have to hit it in the fairway and then you have to be very, very good to get shots on the green and I think that's kind of going to be the name of the game this week.

Q. Two-part question, first part, more light hearted, I'm looking for the answer here, what kind of was your phone just blowing up all week, how many messages did you get?

CAMERON YOUNG: I got a bunch. Yeah, I mean I heard from pretty much everybody that matters. I had all my family, my friends.

Q. Any of the players chime in?

CAMERON YOUNG: You know, I don't know anybody out here that well, to be quite honest. It's been only a few events and I have some friends, but no one that I really am super close to, really, with the exception of Will, who is my college teammate, and he texted me as well.

So, yeah, I had a bunch of people reach out and just nice to hear. I mean, any time you're kind of dealing with that you're doing good stuff.

Q. Part two of that is, last week wasn't your first runner-up finish, you also had Sanderson Farms Championship. What, is there any, something you can learn about yourself or did you, do you give yourself any advice, anything you can learn when you find yourself in the position to where it could go one way or the other?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I don't think it changes much for me. I think going into Sunday at Sanderson Farms I knew I had a chance to win and sometimes it's just not when you win. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

I mean, it's a position I would love to be in again as many times as I can be and I know that at some point you have a good Sunday and you shoot 65 and you win.

I haven't had one of those yet, but I'm hoping if I give myself enough chances I'll have one of them at some point.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you for your time.