THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 21, 2022

Cameron Young

Quail Hollow Club

Press Conference

Q. Asking about first-time jitters, what is your experience with that? Do you usually get them?

CAMERON YOUNG: Not usually. I definitely had some at Augusta. Usually not too bad. We'll see. We'll see tomorrow. It's obviously a little bit different, but yeah, we'll see.

Q. Do you think the environment plays any role in that sort of thing as far as just like fan engagement is concerned? Do you think it makes a difference?

CAMERON YOUNG: I don't know if it's as much the fans as it is the event specifically. I feel like there weren't necessarily any more people at Augusta around the 1st tee as there are anywhere else.

So I think it's less the people and more just the scenario.

Q. Do you have a strategy for how you kind of get yourself -- either hype yourself down or hype yourself up?

CAMERON YOUNG: I don't know. I don't know if I've figured it out yet. I mean, I think, the stock answer to that is try to focus the process of going about playing golf.

Q. Absolutely. Does this first hole help that at all, that there's not too much danger of that?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah. I think it's a friendly tee shot generally. There's a couple bunkers in play on the left. Other than that, there's really nothing too scary out there.

Q. Have you heard anything from any of the other guys about, like, how to handle emotions? Or the experience coming out?

CAMERON YOUNG: A little bit. I think just being around all these guys, I mean, you kind of pick up how they handle things. And yeah, I've gotten to talk to them all a little bit. But I think generally, like I said, I mean, it is a little bit different in a team event.

But it is still just golf. We're still all just trying to stick to what we do.

Q. You've got so much experience on the captains and the assistant captains on this team. In particular, you've got Webb Simpson who lives here. Has he been able to be the extra don't go here, go there kind of thing on this course? Like don't hit this shot in that spot?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah. We actually got here a little bit earlier than most of the guys on Sunday, and I came out and Webb caddied for me. We played 15 holes. He was out there cleaning my clubs and getting me numbers.

Yeah, I mean, obviously, he knows the place better than anybody, and it was nice just to have him steer me around because I've never played it. To kind of have my first experience with Quail Hollow to be literally Webb Simpson caddieing for me has been cool.

Q. He says he's been doing a lot of flag holding. What else is he bringing beyond that? Clearly, he's got more than just caddieing skills.

CAMERON YOUNG: I've been fortunate to get to know him a little bit this past year. Obviously, with our connection to Wake Forest, feel like that was kind of destined to happen a little bit.

But, yeah, I mean just listening to him talk about playing in these team events and how it is just a little bit different. There's a lot that goes on Monday through Wednesday, especially, that we don't normally have. And kind of just hearing him say, you know, once Thursday comes, it's business, and that's kind of when you have to stick to what you do and take care of your job.

Q. A lot of North Carolina flavor on this team, whether it's Davis or guys from Wake. And then, you know, golf in general, the U.S. Open is coming by, the Women's Open is coming back. North Carolina has burst on the golf scene as a hub in the last few years. Moving forward, it's going to be nice to see?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, it's fun. There's obviously a ton of golf here in North Carolina. I spent four years here playing at Wake. So it's a comfortable environment for me. I think a lot of the golf courses are things and kind of styles I'm familiar with.

So, yeah, it's been nice. It's a nice part of the country. It's a place I enjoy.

Q. I was told that the team went to Noble Smoke. Did you join them for that?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about that experience?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah. Food was delicious. It's a really cool place. Had about three plates worth of smoked chicken. Yeah, we had a good, nice night.

Q. Are you a barbecue guy?

CAMERON YOUNG: I love barbecue, yeah.

Q. Do you know how that came together?

CAMERON YOUNG: I think Davis was close to the owner.

Q. Davis knows the owner?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah. We just went, big team dinner, all our wives and the team and the captains.

Q. In a week like this, with everything going on, is doing something like that a nice way to unwind, team build, get away from the site a little bit?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah. I think any time you get to spend time with the guys on this team more casually, it's a lot of fun. They're people you see a lot throughout the year in a professional setting. See each other at our jobs. And it's nice to have a little bit of an experience with them away from the golf course, kind of just get to know those people a little more.

Q. What were you expecting coming into the week? Has anything surprised you in what you've just experienced?

CAMERON YOUNG: Nothing really surprising. I think -- I don't know. I was really looking forward to, honestly, some of the practice rounds, just getting to be around these other guys on the team, you know, more personally.

I feel like we've played practice rounds together sometimes throughout the year. But for me to get to play today with Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas and Kevin Kisner, those are guys I haven't been around that much. I don't think I've ever played with Jordan or Kevin before. So it's just fun to experience kind of being out there with them.

Q. Did you get a word in at all?

CAMERON YOUNG: A little bit. Kevin's doing a lot of talking.

Q. Cam, if you had to build your ideal match play player out of the 12 guys on this team here, who would you choose to drive the ball, hit the iron shots, short game, and putting?

CAMERON YOUNG: I mean, that's a really hard question. Am I allowed to just pick Scottie? He's the best player in the world. I think watching Kis around the greens, Jordan on the greens, obviously unbelievable. I think as a whole, I think the whole team drives it beautiful. I mean, Tony's really long and drives it awesome. But I think that's a general strength of the team is driving.

Q. Are you going to throw yourself in that conversation?

CAMERON YOUNG: I don't know. I don't think quite yet.

Q. You were gearing up for Sanderson this week a year ago.

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah.

Q. It's been a long process. Is it hard to look back where you were a year ago in a regular event?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I think I've kind of been asked that question before. I think everything has come so quickly, and so quickly on the back of something else, that it's been hard to really take time to reflect on it.

Feel like each good thing I did afforded me new opportunity, and I kind of kept taking advantage of that opportunity all the way to get myself here.

So I think there's been very little time in between any of that to really take a look at and think about the steps that led to me standing here. I think, moving forward, it will be more clear kind of how it all worked out. How fortunate I am to be here.

Q. Have you learned a lesson, learned something about yourself maybe you thought you knew and this reinforced it this year, or you surprised yourself?

CAMERON YOUNG: I think a little bit of both. I feel like as a golfer, you kind of always assume that you can, you know, perform at a level high enough to be here. I don't think anyone that's ever played on one of these teams has thought differently than that. I don't think anyone's ever totally surprised themselves to make one of these teams or making it to a TOUR championship. I think it's things that I at least believed I could do.

But at the same time, I know that it's, just in general, unlikely. I mean, you know that there's only 12 guys on the American team so I think there's some aspect of it where you have to be realistic with your expectations. But at the same time, have a belief that it's all possible.

Q. Have you played at all with Taylor Pendrith?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I have.

Q. What your impressions of him and his game, and do you see any similarities between your game and his?

CAMERON YOUNG: I've played with Taylor a little bit at home. We're literally neighbors. So, no, I think we do play the game pretty similarly. He hits a long way off the tee, and he's really solid all around. He's played some great golf after coming back from his injury. I think, you know, given some more starts this year, he might have been right alongside me.

Q. For a guy to go through that and turn it up at the end of the year to play his way on this team, what does that have to say about him?

CAMERON YOUNG: It's an incredible feat he was able to do that. Any time you're away for injury, I don't think he was able to chip or do anything. To come back and have a very complete game right off the bat is very impressive.

Q. Cam, you're a pretty reserved guy, obviously. What's been the most enjoyable aspect of the first few days so far?

CAMERON YOUNG: Kind of like I said, I think just being around some of the other players on the team in a more casual setting, getting to, you know, hear their banter back and forth and get to know them a little bit more as people instead of just golfers that you see kind of on leaderboards. So that's been pretty cool.

Q. Sorry if you've been asked this. What format do you think suits your game, personality best?

CAMERON YOUNG: I don't really know. I think I'm happy to play whenever Davis tells me to play. I don't know if there's really one that suits me that much better than the other. I think the golf course suits me pretty well. We'll just have to see when we play.

Q. You mentioned banter and you practiced with the old man out there today. Have you guys been giving Kis a hard time about being the senior citizen on this team?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, you know, he's my elder so I try to be respectful. I don't think that sentiment is shared by a lot of the other guys. He gives as much as he takes though, so I'm not worried about him.

Q. He's a match play proven guy that's a captain's pick on this team. Glean any information from him or pick his brain on a few things?

CAMERON YOUNG: I mean, you can see it in the way he carries himself and the way he plays. Just the attitude that he approaches it with. He knows that he thrives in match play because he doesn't ever give you a hole. He's going to make it 20 feet from par and get up and down from nowhere. I think that attitude is something that's really important in match play. And he's about the best example of it.

Q. Were you always a great driver of the ball? Like do you always hit long and far from an early age?

CAMERON YOUNG: I was never really, really long. I really got to definitely start hitting it farther in college. Along with that, I also hit it sideways for probably about three years. It's something that I think has improved dramatically. I never would have really considered myself a great driver of the golf ball even though statistically, I think, I am. It's still something I feel like I've improved drastically.

Q. Did you consciously work to gain speed and distance when you were in college, or it just happened? You were swinging hard?

CAMERON YOUNG: I think it just happened. I think we definitely worked out in college and mechanically on swing. I think it's all a combination.

Q. How about now? Are you trying to change anything? Are you ever trying to gain any more speed?

CAMERON YOUNG: No. I mean, if you handed me some, I would take it, I think, but I'm really just trying to hit it straight. I think you can only hit it so far. I know I hit it far enough (indiscernible).

Q. In a way, did this leg of the journey start with that Monday qualifier in Omaha?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, it all started with it. It's been quite a year and a half or two years since then. But yeah, I mean, that's the first time that I got to play on a sanctioned tour. So might as well go back to that. It's been quite a journey to be standing here.

Q. What do you remember from that day?

CAMERON YOUNG: I remember vividly flying an 8 iron over the green on the last hole, thinking that I hit it in a hazard and was going to make a 7. And it stayed out of the hazard and got up and down for birdie.

And I sat in my car. And the guy that leading by 3 or 4 at that point, and I sat in the car waiting for a playoff hole time until they told me I got to hit. So, yeah, I remember quite a few things from that day. But I can still picture that 8 iron flying over.

Q. Cam, you're one of the more calm players out there. You've got a relaxed demeanor. Have you allowed yourself to look ahead to the 1st tee and what that atmosphere might be like?

CAMERON YOUNG: Not any more than usual. I think generally, I'm excited for the tournament to start on Thursday. Just ready to get going. I don't know if it's different for me this week really. It's kind of a different format, different atmosphere. But at the same time, I've still, since we got here, looking forward to playing out there.

Q. Match play brings out a little bit different personalities. Do you see yourself getting into it if your team is down rallies, you win a point or something?

CAMERON YOUNG: I'm sure I will. I'm sure it will be still more internal. But yeah, we'll see. I think I'm sure that it will be more emotional than some other teams.

Q. In your conversations with LIV golf and that discussion, if the PGA TOUR and LIV --

CAMERON YOUNG: I'm not going to say anything. Sorry.

Q. If you went back to that Monday qualifier a year and a half ago, could you have even remotely thought that you'd be standing here right now on the Presidents Cup team?

CAMERON YOUNG: I would like to say yes, but I don't think that was realistic way to look at it. I think at that point, it was really just taking -- that was my first opportunity. And at that point, all that mattered was, you know, taking that opportunity and getting somewhere with it. And thankfully, you know, that kind of snowballed into being here.

Q. If you had a chance to kind of -- I think we've talked about this a couple times. If you had a chance to sit back and kind of look back on things and kind of take things in a little bit now that you're kind of through the year, most of it is kind of fresh?

CAMERON YOUNG: I feel like it's all just kind of one continuous thing. I feel like each time I've played well, I've given myself more opportunity and seem to keep taking advantage of it pretty well. So, yeah, it's all happened very fast. I'm very thankful to be here, but it's really hard to take it all in, kind of all that's happened. And I feel like it's still just happening.

Q. How do you attribute your success in the past 18 months?

CAMERON YOUNG: Just as far as like how I've gotten here? What do I attribute it too?

Q. Yes.

CAMERON YOUNG: I don't know. I think it's a combination of a lot of things. I think it's, obviously, a lot of hard work. No one gets here without working very hard at the game of golf. It's a lot of support from my family, my parents, my wife. And it's a lot of good fortune. I think eventually, the hard work wins out, but it does take some good fortune for things to happen, you know, in the time frame they happened for me.

Q. How cool has it been to share this experience with your mom, your dad, your wife, knowing, obviously, your dad is a coach and your mom is so involved in the game of golf? How cool has that been?

CAMERON YOUNG: It's been a lot of fun. They've enjoyed getting to watch all year. My dad getting to be a part of being inside the ropes and helping me. I think they've had a great time. And it's been fun just to, you know, see how much support they get back home in Sleepy Hollow. Their club has embraced my parents and me so much over the course of my dad's career there. But just to see them enjoying it and having fun is very rewarding.