Cameron Young también sigue metido en la pelea del THE PLAYERS Championship después de una tercera ronda en la que tuvo que luchar más de la cuenta en el TPC Sawgrass. El estadounidense firmó este sábado una tarjeta de 70 strokes, two-under par, which keeps him within striking distance on the leaderboard, four shots off the lead, although with a slightly bitter taste after a closing bogey at the 18th hole.
Young admitted after his round that it wasn’t his best day of golf, especially off the tee, one of his great strengths during the week. “I feel like I battled pretty well. I didn’t play particularly well. I’ve been hitting the driver very well all week, but today I didn’t hit it into the fairway much,” he explained. The American summed up his round as a succession of long opportunities. “I made quite a few decent shots, but it was one of those days where all the putts leave you 32 feet… and from there you don’t make many”
Even so, Young was pleased to have remained under par for much of the round. “Getting back to two-under with one hole to play was pretty good,” he said
The finish, however, left a bittersweet taste. The tee shot at 18 looked good, but the wind played a bad trick. “The shot wasn’t bad. In fact, I almost crouched to pick up the tee as soon as I hit it. But there’s a lot of wind up there and the ball kept spinning and spinning… and it went just a foot too far,” he lamented
Earlier, at the iconic 17th hole, Young produced one of the day’s big moments by leaving his shot just inches from the hole. The birdie was practically a formality. “It was 127 yards. I was trying to land it at 133 and I hit it a bit heavy… but it finished a foot away,” he recounted
The experience of playing at Sawgrass demands the utmost concentration throughout the round, something Young himself emphasised. “Here, if you hit a bad shot, it’s likely you’ll end up with a double bogey. There’s not much margin for error. It’s a mentally demanding course, but after playing Bay Hill and coming here you’re ready for that kind of challenge”
Despite the final mistake, the American retains intact confidence ahead of the final day. On a course as unpredictable as Sawgrass, he believes anything can still happen. “Of course I’m within striking distance,” he said emphatically
Young also recalled that big rounds are possible on this course at any moment. “I don’t expect the leader to give me anything, but I do believe those scores are out there. I could shoot eight or nine under par. We saw it last year with Justin Thomas shooting 10 under par. Ludvig shot nine yesterday and there have been several seven-under rounds. There’s no reason I couldn’t be the one to post that number tomorrow”
With that conviction Cameron Young will head into Sunday, knowing that at Sawgrass everything can change in just a few holes. And that, if a low round comes, the title at THE PLAYERS could be wide open again.
