Cameron Young fuels a US comeback that comes up short at Ryder Cup

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Cameron Young heard his name chanted as he made his way to the 17th green at Bethpage Black, the same golf course he walked with his parents at age 5 in 2002 when it hosted the U.S. Open.

The crowd cheered him going up No. 18 and roared when he sank a nearly 12-foot birdie putt to win the first singles match Sunday at the Ryder Cup and give the U.S. a bit of hope facing the biggest deficit in tournament history. An epic comeback fell short and Europe retained the cup, but the New York native got his moment to wrap up a week when he was one of the home team’s top contributors.

“When we sent out Cam Young first from New York to lead us out, we had to have that match,” captain Keegan Bradley said. “He went out there in front of the whole world, in front of his home state, and made a 10-footer to beat Justin Rose, who is an all-time Ryder Cupper, and get to celebrate at Bethpage Black in front of everybody.”

Known for his stoic nature, Young got emotional after sending American fans in the grandstand into a frenzy, even knowing how unlikely victory was.

“This is the biggest event that we have, really,” Young said. “There’s no bigger stage to play on, in my home state, a golf course that I love. There’s 11 other guys on this team that I was working really hard for, and Keegan has put so much into this, all the vice captains. There’s a lot of people that have had so much to do with putting on this week, and I was just playing my hardest for all of them.”

Young, one of a quartet of U.S. rookies participating, wasn’t in Bradley’s lineup for Friday morning foursomes. He played every session the rest of the way and won three of four.

“It was fun watching him out there,” Bradley said earlier in the tournament. “That was really cool to see. He came back to his home state at a golf course that he’s played. I was really proud to go out there and watch him play the way he did. He played awesome. He’s been playing great for a long time.”

That crystallized in singles play against Rose, Europe’s elder statesmen making his seventh Ryder Cup appearance. Young led early, fell behind and went ahead by as many as 3 up on the back nine before Rose tied it on No. 16.

After halving the next hole, Young hit a 308-yard tee shot on No. 18 to the fairway, then nailed a near-perfect approach to get the ball on the green, closer than Rose’s.

“To have a putt there on 18 to get a full point for the team was all could I have asked for,” Young said. “I’ve been thinking about having a putt like that for a while. The way things were going halfway through the back nine today, I didn’t want that putt, and then the way things were going through 17, I was very grateful that I had a chance there.”

Young played and won fourballs Friday with Justin Thomas and foursomes Saturday with Bryson DeChambeau before taking care of business himself Sunday. He credited those partners for getting him into a groove, and the 28-year-old showed his best at his first Ryder Cup that very well might not be his last.

“Apparently Ryder Cups fire me up a little bit,” Young said. “I had the help of JT and Bryson over the last couple of days to bring some emotion out, but that one right there I’ll remember for a long time.”

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