DORAL, Fla. — The only person who gave Cameron Young any trouble Sunday was, well, Cameron Young.
He called a one-stroke penalty on himself while playing the par-4 second hole after causing his ball to go off the fairway. And then you do the same anyway.
It was that kind of week: The youngster was invincible and undefeated. He went solo in the lead at the Cadillac Championship, a final round of 4-under 68 that took him to 19 under for the week and six shots clear of world number 1 Scottie Scheffler (68).
“When the golf course is tough, the conditions are tough, that’s usually easier for me mentally,” Young said.
With President Donald Trump in the viewing area for most of the round at Trump National Doral, Young picked up $3.6 million for the second-biggest pay day of his career. He made $4.5 million earlier this year by winning the Players Championship.
Trump arrived with several members of his family — including grandson Kai Trump, who plans to play at the University of Miami when he enrolls later this year — shortly after noon and stayed until the end of the tournament. There was a standing ovation as Young teed off on the 18th hole, as many fans in attendance were allowed onto the fairway to watch the final putts of the week.
And when it was over, Young got a thumbs up from Trump, which was later followed by a quick handshake.
“It’s very different. He’s nothing if not a very interesting man,” Young said. “He’s very strong, and it’s an honor to play in front of him.”
A little more than an inch of rain fell on the course in the early hours of Sunday, delaying the scheduled 7:30 am start (which had already been rescheduled for Saturday because of bad weather) to the final round by two hours. And the blue Monster was no longer a monster, not everything that was softened by the rain.
The average score for the first three rounds was between 71 and 71.6. The average score on Sunday, with preferred lies, was 69. There were nine birdies — total — on the par 18th in the first three rounds and a 12th on Sunday’s finishing hole alone.
Scheffler finished second in his third consecutive start, after shooting behind Rory McIlroy at the Masters and losing in a playoff to Matt Fitzpatrick at Hilton Head. Those were close; this one was not there.
That’s how beautiful Young was. Even the best player in the world never had a real chance on Sunday.
Young called a ball violation with his ball in the middle of the fairway on the second hole – it moved at address, something he said has happened to him before – and said he didn’t hesitate to do the right thing.
“Your heart sinks when you see it moving,” Young said. “But it moved. That’s part of the story of golf. Nobody’s going to give me a penalty there but me.”
Ben Griffin (68) tied for third at 12 under, while Si Woo Kim (70), Sepp Straka (66) and Adam Scott (64) tied for fourth at 11 under.
Scott may have secured a spot in the US Open – which would be his 100th major start in a row, assuming he starts at the PGA Championship later this month – after shooting 66-64 over the weekend. Scott finished at 11 under, which means he should sit comfortably in the top 60 in the world and qualify for the US Open.
“To win a major I’m going to need to put together four days, not just the weekend after,” said Scott, who won the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship in 2016 – until this week, the latest PGA Tour event in Doral. “I feel like my game is there. I’m doing all the things I think I need to do to be in that kind of competition.”
