The last time Cameron Young took a look at the leaderboard before going out to play this afternoon at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, he got the idea that he would have to reach seven or eight under to be near the leaders. There were several players at four and five under par after nine or ten holes, so he made a simple projection. Thus, when halfway through his round his score was one over par, with two bogeys and one birdie, the reality is that he was not too happy. He felt like he was missing the train…
It was then when he saw a screen with the tournament leaderboard. He breathed a sigh of relief. His face changed. He relaxed his muscles. “Ah, the lead is at five under,” he said to himself. “There’s room”. And he got to work. Six under in the second nine holes of the Majlis course, the stretch of the course where you can really sink your teeth in. He struck oil on the three par 5s, four under par, with two very easy birdies on the 10th and 13th and a flag eagle on the 18th, sinking it from outside. He added two more on the 16th, with a great shot, and on the 17th, with a good putt of just over three meters, and took the lead. What at three in the afternoon was a hare escaping, two and a half hours later turned into a solid lead.
Young has presented his credentials in the DP World Tour in an imposing way. What a debut. It’s the first exclusive European Circuit tournament he’s played in his career and he’s taken the lead at the first opportunity. The closest thing he played before was the Genesis Scottish Open in 2022, which was a hybrid with the PGA Tour, and he missed the cut. Young Cameron (25 years old) needs a joy, since he hasn’t signed a top 10 since the Open at Royal Liverpool, six months ago. Who knows if he’s not going to break the bad luck on the DP World Tour after seven second places on the PGA Tour.
The afternoon has been more generous, at least as far as the leaders are concerned. Along with Young, Rasmus Hojgaard (-5) and Andy Sullivan (-5) have managed to tie with Haotong Li, the only one who reached that score in the morning. Rasmus shows that he’s not joking and that he intends to fight for glory with his brother Nicolai, while Sullivan has shown that he knows how to do very well in this blessed Emirates, with three top 10s in his career and a second place.
Also placed high in the afternoon shift are Thorbjorn Olesen (-4) and Louis de Jager (-4). For now, the Danish Armada shouts loud in Dubai, with four players in the top 5. Let’s not lose sight of Tommy Fleetwood (-3). On the other hand, the disappointments are Tyrrell Hatton (+2), Ryan Fox (+3) and Thriston Lawrence (+3). Also, bad first round for Bernd Wiesberger (+2) on his return to the DP World Tour after his stint at LIV.
The afternoon started with a slight breeze in the first holes, but the last part of the day has been really calm. You could make a score.
