THE MODERATOR: Cameron Young joins us now at the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Cameron, welcome to your first Ryder Cup. We'll go ahead and get started with questions.
Q. When is the most nervous you've ever been on a golf course in your life?
CAMERON YOUNG: I think probably first Masters, first tee. That's the one that sticks out to me the most over the last few years.
Q. What did you learn about hitting a nervy opening tee shot from that?
CAMERON YOUNG: I mean, I think just everybody's got some nerves. You still have to hit it. So it's, for me, I think just a matter of going through the process leading up to it, and you know, getting to the first tee and trying to make a swing that I've been making over the last few days.
Q. How significant in your maturation as a golfer was winning the New York Open here?
CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, it's certainly a step. It's, I think, the first professional event that I won. I won a Westchester Open, as well, up here. I don't remember which one came first.
But yeah, I mean, it's obviously a championship golf course. This section is known for having a lot of great professionals. In the midst of my college career, that was a nice step to take. Playing some good golf on a course like this is always kind of a nice notch to achieve.
Q. What did it do for your confidence as you were speeding on the road to professional golf?
CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I think it's just kind of another -- it's just another piece of evidence, piece of the puzzle that you're doing the right things. You're working the right way, and moving toward your ultimate goal of playing out here, and you know, being successful on the PGA TOUR and making these teams.
Q. What have your sort of impressions of the Bethpage Black crowd been so far, and what are your expectations the rest of the week?
CAMERON YOUNG: Yesterday was the first day with fans on Tuesday, and it's about the most people I've ever seen out on a golf course. So there's already a lot of energy, a lot of noise out there. You know, Tuesday, Wednesday, a lot of support for us.
Just what you'd expect from a New York crowd. I think they will bring a lot to it come Friday. You know, just knowing the personalty up here of the fans, I think they will bring a lot to it. I think, you know, hoping they are staying on our side but I know they will let us have it, too, if we're not performing the way they want.
Q. What is it about the personality of the New York fans that stands out?
CAMERON YOUNG: It's just a very intense group of people, I feel. They love to win. They love their teams when they win. I think that is what gets a group like this going.
Q. Just wondering what it's been like to be with the same practice group as Bryson?
CAMERON YOUNG: It's been great, honestly. I've spent very little time with him up until this week. I had spoken to him here and there for a minute.
You know, he's a smart guy. He's interesting to talk to. Obviously loves golf and has thought about golf maybe more than anybody out here throughout his career. I'm always picking his brain, asking him what he thinks about certain things, and it's been fun for me to kind of watch him work.
He's obviously one of the best players in the world and has great success playing in big events. It's fun for me to see what he does and try to learn something from him.
Q. Do you feel like you're seeing that he's going to make an impact with the crowd this week?
CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I think so. I mean, he's a tremendously popular player. Obviously a huge talent. Big personality. The people love him, and I think he's loving our team, as well.
It's fun to see him kind of in his element out there getting the people going, and yeah, it's just fun to watch.
Q. That being said, what you said about the New York fans, the Europeans have virtual reality personal headsets that they have given out to the players. They can plug in their own personal insults and noise from fans with these virtual reality to get used to it. No. 1, is there any way that you can get used to this virtually, and No. 2, what would be the worst insult that you could plug in from a New York fan if you had to do it?
CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I don't know about the whole virtual reality thing. I think there's probably no substitute for being out there.
Worst insult for us out here? I don't really know. Obviously we're all going to work to play well and hopefully we don't have to hear that side of it.
Q. I was wondering who maybe you've leaned on, whether it's in the team room this week or outside the team room as a Ryder Cup rookie about what to expect come Friday morning and throughout the weekend?
CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, it's been a few different people. I mean, there's obviously some more experienced guys on the team, and then our assistant captains, as well.
But it's really kind of been a little bit from everybody. I mean, I've spoken to Keegan a lot. Just sat down and was eating lunch with Webb Simpson. I've played a good bit with Justin Thomas over the last few days. Spoke to his caddie. Spoke to Ted Scott a little bit. Just trying to pick up little things here and there. You know, they have all got so much experience and so much wisdom from their times in these events.
You just never know if you might hear something from any one of them that kind of resonates with you, and it's been nice to just hear some little --
Q. (On having his own YouTube Channel because Bryson does.)
CAMERON YOUNG: I think unlikely still. You know, I don't know if my channel would compete with his. But yeah, he's -- speaking to him, I sat next to him on the bus the other day and he was talking all about how much he loves that part of what he does, and I think it's -- I think it's really cool. I mean, he's found a way to reach a lot of people. He's a very positive person.
So I think he's having a really, really nice impact on younger fans and some people new to golf. I think it's been great for the golfing public in general.
It's cool to see how much that means to him and how much he enjoys putting that together.
Q. What are your New York sports teams? Like who are you a fan of and what kind of a fan? Like how deep in it are you?
CAMERON YOUNG: I'd be a Giants fan, a Yankees fan and a Rangers fan. I'm not the best sports fan in the world. I would love to be but I've got a little kids at home, and that kind of eats away at the sports watching in our house.
So I'm not the most involved fan, but I'll be a New York fan, you know, the rest of my life.
Q. Is there something that you learned at that Presidents Cup you played in about team golf, about yourself? Did you learn something that week that you couldn't have known prior to one of these events?
CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I mean, I think that first year for me was a lot of discovery just in terms of just accepting that, you know, I fit in out here golf-wise, and then I'm, you know, meant to be here and this is what I want to do. You know, I'm qualified to be on these teams.
At that point, you know, I had been on Tour for less than a year. You know, it was 11 or 12 months before making that team that I was still watching the PGA TOUR as a fan. I was playing on the Korn Ferry Tour but I don't think that many people on the Korn Ferry Tour are turning on Korn Ferry Tour golf. PGA TOUR is where you want to be.
To me, I was watching all these guys as a fan. And you stick me 10, 11 months later in the team room, and I'm sitting there kind of, you know, still a bit uncomfortable just because I don't know anybody really well. There's a few guys on the team that I had known from junior golf but there had been a gap, six, seven, eight years where I had not really seen them much.
So I was still getting my feet under me, and I think now that I've been out here for longer, I'm much more comfortable. There's guys at this point that I play with at home. And now it's just overall way, way easier for me. I have a lot more belief in my golf, and just personally a lot more comfortable than I would have been, you know, that first year.
Q. This is a very emotional event, obviously, and there's a number of players who don't play with a ton of emotion, present company included. But we've seen stuff from Duval, from Vijay, from Cantlay. Can you think of anything that would cause you to lose your mind this week?
CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, I think it could happen. Especially, you know, at this venue in front of this crowd. You know, there's nothing I would love more than to give myself an opportunity to see what I am capable of on that front.
But you know, the real answer is, I've got prep to do. We've been working this week. You know, none of that matters unless I have an opportunity to do something that warrants that kind of emotional response, and that's more what I'm focused on than what's going to happen.
Q. How do you feel about your game two days away?
CAMERON YOUNG: I've been playing well. Obviously I've had a really nice last three, four months to get myself here, and this week, I've played a bunch of really nice golf.
It's a golf course I'm super comfortable on. Suits my eye in a lot of ways. I really like these greens. So I've been playing nicely and seeing no signs of it going the other way.
Q. And sorry, but you guys came in late last week as a team? When did you first get back to the course?
CAMERON YOUNG: We got here -- I got here Sunday. I played Monday.
Q. What was that like, and when would have been the last time you were here?
CAMERON YOUNG: I think that State Open was probably the last time I was here. So it's been a number of years. But it's one of those things. I feel like every year you get back to the same place. The time in between just goes away, and it's the same thing coming in here. Walking out on the first tee, feels like I was here yesterday.
So that first day is quiet. I mean, there's nobody out here. It's just kind of walking around, seeing what I remember, which is a lot of it. It's a place I remember, you know, playing an MGA team event here, that New York State Open, high school event. Everything feels so much the same.
Obviously now there's the stands and there's some better players hanging around, but the golf itself just feels so much the same.
Q. Your previous time have here would have been when?
CAMERON YOUNG: New York State Open. I think that would have been '17.
Q. Your father is a PGA pro. Your mom is a distinguished player in her own right. What was it like telling them that you had made the team?
CAMERON YOUNG: Yeah, it was pretty cool. I mean, my dad, all of you probably know, but he spends -- I think I've played 25 times this year. He was there 24 of those. So he's a huge part of what I do. And obviously my mom is not as involved in the golf now but she was the one that was, you know, the one taking me to the golf course and taking me to tournaments as a junior golfer.
So they are both deeply connected within the game, connected up here, and yeah, it's pretty cool. I mean, I'm trying to imagine if it were my kid, I would be probably more proud of them for making it here than myself playing here. So I think in their shoes, I know that they are having a great time being here this week, and for my dad, it's a lot of hard work that's paid off on his end, too.
Q. What's the lasting memory of that record round that you shot here?
CAMERON YOUNG: I think that I had a putt for one less that I missed on 18. Yeah, just one of those days. I hit a shot on 12, and I don't know what it was to get to, but I think it was maybe a 6-iron, kind of into the wind to a left pin on 12, and that was just kind of where I knew that that day I just had control over what I was doing. I was just playing really well, and yeah, I just remember it being one of those days that I just felt like I knew where the ball was going to come down. I knew how it was going to bounce.
And then to give myself a chance to win outright coming from five, six back was pretty good, and unfortunate not to have done that but got it done in one extra hole.
Q. How long have you had this event at this venue circled on the calendar?
CAMERON YOUNG: Since it was announced. I think I would have been in high school. It's been quite some time.
You know, at some point during the middle of this year, it seemed like a long shot, but we just kept ourselves oriented toward being here this week, and the golf started to change.
Since then, it's been really solid. I feel like I really put myself in a place that I had an opportunity to earn my way here, and thankful to have done that late in the year.
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