Breakthrough TOUR title eludes Cameron Young once again

When will Cameron Young win on the PGA TOUR?

It’s a question he’d prefer not to speculate around, but his runner-up at the Valspar Championship marks yet another close call for the uber-talented, elite-driving Wake Forest alum.

Young finished solo second at the Valspar, two strokes back of Peter Malnati, for his seventh career runner-up finish on TOUR without a victory. Young, 26, has been known for some time as one of the best players yet to win on TOUR, and this week furthers that narrative.

Young shared fifth place into the final round at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course, but he surged into serious contention with birdies on Nos. 11, 12 and 14 on a Sunday defined by leaderboard volatility. He shared the lead with Peter Malnati (11-under) with two holes to play Sunday, facing an 18-foot birdie try at the par-3 17th hole. But Young missed, Malnati made birdie in the group behind, and Young pulled his tee shot well left at the par-4 finishing hole – leading to a nearly stifled angle for his approach where he did well to get onto the green, but then three-putted from 51 feet. Malnati closed with a par for a two-stroke victory at 12-under 272.

Young admitted his final tee shot was “a bad time for a pull,” but he took positives from the week overall, his third top-10 in eight starts this season. He’s 8-for-8 in made cuts as well, as his high-potential game continues to build consistency.

“I think I kept myself in it mentally really well today,” said Young, who carded rounds of 69-69-68-68 at the Copperhead Course. “I hit a couple shots I was really proud of late … I think I handled my own thoughts really well and, for me, that’s a big win regardless of the outcome.”

Young’s runner-up resume is eclectic: 2021 Sanderson Farms Championship, The Genesis Invitational 2022, 2022 Wells Fargo Championship, The Open Championship 2022, 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic, 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, and now the 2024 Valspar Championship. He has finished runner-up across various course styles and conditions, in different times of the year, and now in four consecutive years.

The solace: he’s close, and a breakthrough seems inevitable. He’ll keep plugging away.

“Honestly, I realized I wasn’t going to win pretty quickly, and I have a four-hour drive home with a 1- and a 2-year-old,” Young said afterward. Safe to say his mind will be elsewhere before long.