MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 6, 2023

Cameron Young

Quick Quotes

Q. An opening 67. How satisfied are you with the way you played considering how the course conditions were?

CAMERON YOUNG: I think I played well. Today was going to be harder hole location-wise, just knowing the weather was going to be nicer today.

Yeah, I'm really happy with my start. I think I executed our plan quite well. And anything under par out here is always good.

Q. Paul Tessori has been on the air waves just talking and raving about the relationship you've already built. How would you describe how that's worked so fast coming into this week?

CAMERON YOUNG: I think he brings a lot to the table. I think it's helped me personally let go of the bad stuff that happens out there. He's just so positive and energetic.

It's hard for me to think about lingering on something that -- or dwelling on something that's happened. It's really easy just to move on, and I think that's something that's really helpful out here.

Q. That was one of the pieces that you built leading into this week. What were some of the other things you did to prepare?

CAMERON YOUNG: Just as far as like prep this week onsite?

Q. Leading up to, the other tournaments.

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I've been around him a ton. It's just very comfortable. We talked a lot this last week, just kind of as I practiced at home. Then there's a lot of prep once we got here.

It's been good. We've kept busy. I think just the more time we spend around each other, the better we communicate and kind of the more efficient we are.

Q. Did you learn anything from last year that helped you approach the golf course a little bit differently?

CAMERON YOUNG: I don't know that much golf course-wise honestly. I think comfort level is like the main thing. I was afraid to go hit the first tee shot last year, and this year it wasn't at all the same. I'm just a lot more comfortable.

Last year I didn't understand how anybody made a birdie out here. This year I kind of just got off to obviously a nice start and was really comfortable the whole day.

Q. Is that a danger of this place, almost giving it too much reverence and not treating it like any other golf course?

CAMERON YOUNG: It can be. Your first one, it's hard not to. You're standing on the 1st tee at the Masters, it's a different kind of thing than any other tournament. But the more you can approach it like it's not different, I think, is a good thing. I've been able to do that pretty well.

Q. On 17 you and Paul had a long conversation on the drive. Is it just everything or anything?

CAMERON YOUNG: On 17? I honestly don't remember.

Q. You guys obviously talk a lot. That's part of his MO, obviously?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, for sure. We pretty much talk all day. We talk about the golf course. We talk about a bunch of golf stuff. We talk about Webb. I don't know. We just -- kind of anything and everything that comes out of our minds.

17, I have no clue what we were talking about. I don't remember at all. That's probably a good thing honestly.

Q. The importance of getting off to a good start, you hit two great shots into 1 and made the putt. That was a great flow into the round.

CAMERON YOUNG: Honestly, I told Paul, after the putt went in on 1, I was literally trying to make par. I was really happy that I had -- I knew that from 15 feet, if I tried to make par, I could make par, which was going to be a perfectly good start for me. So that was really the goal, and it happened to go in, which was awesome. That was a really fun start to the day.

I think out here that's kind of the way you have to approach it in a lot of places. That putt broke 2 1/2 feet and was really quick at the end. So any time one of those goes in, it's a bonus for sure.

Q. Scale of 1 to 10, how difficult is the up and down out of the bunker on 4 with the pin back there on the shelf?

CAMERON YOUNG: On 4, not too bad. A little tricky, but I had a pretty good lie. At that point, the greens weren't as firm as they were coming into the day. So it wasn't too bad.

Q. Your early week prep this year compared to last year?

CAMERON YOUNG: I did way less.

Q. Way less this year?

CAMERON YOUNG: Way less this year than last year. I was here Sunday midday last year. This year I came in Monday about 3:00, played -- I don't even remember how many holes we played. Maybe nine or five. I think we played like five holes on Monday. Then 13 or 14 on Tuesday, and then nine on Wednesday.

I did a lot less practice onsite. I kind of did my work at home and came here really just to hit some putts and chip around the greens a little bit and get comfortable with the tee shots. But I didn't do anywhere near as much as I did last year.

Q. That was a conscious thing?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, definitely. Last year I feel like that kind of bled into all the other majors last year. This was the only one that I really like tried harder, and it went really poorly. So I decided not to do that again.

Q. And the other ones turned out good?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah.

Q. Watching you in Austin and here, how much does the driver set up your entire game?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, it definitely does. I feel like I did some things this last week practice-wise, just with the driver especially, and I feel more like myself. I didn't feel like I drove it -- I didn't drive it bad in Austin, but I didn't feel quite like myself with the driver. Just some of the shots that usually come naturally weren't, so I was having to work at it a little bit more.

I feel better the last couple days, especially today out there.

Q. What was the fix or tweak?

CAMERON YOUNG: I just went back to an old shaft that's about the same. It's very similar, but it just feels a hair different. It's a little softer.

Q. You shape it?

CAMERON YOUNG: Just to help me a little more. It feels like I don't have to swat my arms at it. Like if I get something really stiff, the numbers might be awesome, and there's certain things that are easier, but I think all in all, what I've got in there now is just a little bit better for me.

Q. Longer? Shorter?

CAMERON YOUNG: Same length. It's basically the same driver I played all last year.

Q. You don't seem like a sentimental guy on the exterior. So how special was the Par 3 Contest yesterday taking it in from a totally different perspective?

CAMERON YOUNG: It was great. I had my wife and our older son out there. It was probably too hot for the little one, but we had a great time. I kind of like hit a couple putts with him and stuff.

I think when Bubba made a hole-in-one, he thought everyone was clapping for him. So we had a great time. Everybody had fun. It's just really cool to share that with your family.

It got rained out last year. So it was my first one, and it's going to be a day that I look forward to every year here on out.