JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 7, 2023

Cameron Young

TPC Deere Run

Press Conference

Q. Cameron, in with a second round 64, a three-shot lead currently. Just looking at the stats, it doesn't look like there's much different from yesterday to today. How would you describe that round comparing?

CAMERON YOUNG: I definitely drove it better yesterday. I don't know what the stats, but yesterday I think I only really -- I might have missed three fairways, but two of them were first cuts, and they were both really good shots right down the middle of 9 and right down the middle of 4.

So I think I definitely drove it better yesterday. I think I hit a few really good iron shots today, which probably helped the stats quite a bit.

Then obviously I putted really nicely, especially early today. They felt similar. I felt like I was a little bit more in control of the driver yesterday.

But all in all, very similar. I was pretty comfortable each day.

Q. Got off to a quick start. Three birdies. How big was that birdie on the last hole?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, that was nice. I was aiming nowhere near there. Ludvig came up and said, Hey, nice shot.

I was like, Yeah, it's kind of awful, but it's work out awesome. I don't know. It's one of those things when it's going well, I feel like some of that happens.

Nice to finish that way. After the finish yesterday it was kind of a bummer because I feel like I might have played even a little better than I did yesterday -- or better than I did today yesterday. So nice for it to add up to that today.

Q. When you are playing as well as you are, what is there that you work on tonight, or what is it you're thinking about going into the weekend to make sure you can kind of keep this going?

CAMERON YOUNG: I won't do anything this afternoon. I'm not a big practicer after the round. I feel like I'm better off if I have something to work on, spending an extra five or eight minutes tomorrow morning because that way the simple things are the same.

Your body changes a little bit each day, and I feel like after playing for a full day, going out there and practicing, one, I'm a little tired and also looser than I will be first thing tomorrow.

I won't do much. I'll kind of rest and just try to kill some time before tomorrow.

Q. You're back in contention again. Earlier this week when you talked about the last couple of times you've been in contention, it's not like you choked it away or anything. It's that players came back and beat you. What do you do now to make sure no one can come up, and what have you learned from that to kind of make sure you can keep the pedal down and stay ahead of everybody this week?

CAMERON YOUNG: I think what you said last there is all you can really do. There's a lot of golf left, and there's a lot of people that are three and four shots behind me, and that can go away really quick.

We saw this morning, I came out and birdied the first three holes when the leader wasn't on the golf course, and all of a sudden I'm tied with him.

Yeah, I mean, there's just nothing that I can take for granted in that respect. It's a golf course that is very scorable when you are in control, but if you play it kind of loosely, it's not that easy either.

I think it's just remaining really committed to what we've planned on for how to play the golf course and just keep myself in each shot as much as I can.

Q. Paul was on the bag for a couple of wins here and is familiar with the golf course. Has that helped you coming here fresh, new?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I think so. He has a wealth of golf knowledge and course knowledge for everywhere we go on the PGA TOUR. He is a massive resource for me in that way.

Yeah, I know he has had some success here. I don't think it applies necessarily that much because I feel like -- I mean, his previous boss, Webb, I hit it just a little farther than him. He is by no means short, but there's just a couple of places where that 15 yards makes a difference. Paul is having to relearn a little bit of that. I spin the ball a lot more.

So he knows a lot golf course-wise, and it's just a matter of us communicating well enough to kind of fit those together and make good decisions.

Q. You mentioned it's a process getting to know one another --

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, for sure.

Q. -- and him responding to you as opposed to responding the way he would to Webb. Do you feel like it's locked in now or getting close?

CAMERON YOUNG: I feel like we're really getting there. We've had our really good and really bad moments I feel like.

All in all, it's been amazing, and he works so hard and knows so much that he has turned into a huge resource for me, even in this short period of time. I trust him.

I think we definitely have our moments where I say -- I don't say enough or he doesn't quite say enough, but I think we've also had moments that were really, really clearly understanding each other, and that's when I think some of the good golf has come out.

Q. He mentioned you went back to an older ball this week.

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I did. I just went back to a ball that I played basically all last year. It's very familiar.

Q. Does it just feel more comfortable?

CAMERON YOUNG: I think probably by the book suits me better than what I played for a little while. Yeah, it's very familiar. It feels like I played it two weeks ago. It's not like I have to relearn the whole thing.

Q. What is it? What is the ball? Do you mind...

CAMERON YOUNG: The Left Dot Pro V1. I had been in the X, so it's kind of a high-spin and low-spin, kind of both ends of the spectrum.

I kind of made the switch thinking that as long as I can control the ball in the wind, I felt like more spin and higher launch was going to help me at majors and some of the big events as well.

You see somewhere like Arnold Palmer or Riviera, the greens get rock hard every year, but I think it might take a couple of shots out of my hands, but I think all in all it's more predictable for me.

Q. In the lead right now, do you even let yourself go to thinking about winning the tournament, or is it still staying in the process and get there on Sunday?

CAMERON YOUNG: It's some of both. I feel like thinking about winning is not, like -- I feel like you can be thinking about it without it being a bad thing.

I think everybody came here this week to win a golf tournament, and in that way you're all thinking about it right off the bat.

Obviously I'm in a better position than you find yourself most weeks to do that, but that just really means I'm kind of accomplishing my goals thus far this week and doing my job well. So that's all I can try to keep doing.

Q. You're new to this golf course. What did you learn about this layout from yesterday to today that you were able to apply to today's success?

CAMERON YOUNG: I think there's a couple of holes where knowing that there's fairway somewhere is helpful that you didn't really see in your practice round or yesterday maybe.

Kind of knowing on 8 today, I kind of pushed it, but I hit it really well. It was just one of those that I felt like I saw yesterday that it kind of opened up a little bit there. One that instead of kind of having some anxiety over where it is just like not knowing walking up versus I'm pretty sure that's in the fairway I think can just change how you feel out there a little bit.

Q. The whole group had it rolling today.

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah.

Q. Did that help keep the mojo going? How did it help keep you going?

CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I think it's just a really nice group, honestly. Nick I've known a while. He is a really good guy. Ludvig I obviously don't know well, but he has been really pleasant to be around.

They're both not only very good at golf, but nice to watch as well. So I think any time you kind of get a group like that, it's nice. You get to watch some good golf, and they're both nice-looking golf swings and solid players.

It was just a nice group, and I think the fact that everybody played well just kind of brings everybody's spirits up a little bit.