After shooting an 8-under 64 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead at the Cadillac Championship, Cameron Young picked up where he left off to begin the second round, quickly extending his advantage and creating a big gap between himself and the field.
Young had four birdies in his first seven holes on Friday to advance to the second round with a 67, improving to 13 under and heading into the weekend with a five-stroke lead.
The wind finally picked up at Trump National Doral, posing some challenges for the players in the afternoon, but Young’s breakneck scoring pace slowed on the back nine. As conditions got tougher, Young’s ability around the greens shined, putting him on track for another round of mid-60s.
That was especially true on the very difficult 18th, where he hit his approach long and right, but was able to get it up and down for par with a gorgeous chip from the Bermuda rough to a foot inside. After putting that away, Young signed a 67 and entered the clubhouse at 13 under. This is a lower score than the previous three winners who finished 72 holes or more at Doral during the WGC era.
Young enters the week in second place at odds, as distance has always been a big advantage in the long Blue Monster. The irony of his performance so far is that while his driving is the least consistent part of his game, it’s his play everywhere else that makes the difference.
“I controlled my mistakes really well and I thought my putts were really good. I think I took my chances,” Young said. “It wasn’t a bad hit, but I didn’t stay in position all day and didn’t make a great drive. I’ll try to improve on that tomorrow.”
He was first in putting and fifth in strokes gained on approach, going up and down 12 of 13 times. On a course as dangerous as the Blue Monster, that’s about the only number of bogeys in the first 36 holes.
Heading into the weekend with a big lead, Young will rely not only on his incredible physical tools, but also on an improved mental approach to secure his second big event win of the season. Young feels more calm on the golf course and is better able to handle high-pressure situations.
“I’m going to take whatever I can get,” Young said. “I feel like I’ve been pretty close to the lead, so I’m not really offended.” “So far, I like this golf course. That being said, I’m going to take advantage of whatever advantage you give me. There’s a lot of four-, five-back players out there. I’m sure someone will go from four under to five under tomorrow. So I just need to prepare for that and go from there.”
That mentality will serve him well this weekend. Winning on the PGA Tour, especially in the marquee events, is not easy, even if you have a five-stroke lead.
weekend candidates
T2. Nick Taylor, Jordan Spieth, Alex Smalley (-8)
5. Gary Woodland (-7)
T6. Scotty Scheffler, Siwoo Kim, Alex Fitzpatrick, Christopher Reitan, Taylor Pendrith, Brian Harman (-6)
Jordan Spieth couldn’t repeat Thursday’s frenetic performance, but a long birdie roll on the final hole kept him tied for second with a 1-under 71 and generated positive momentum heading into the weekend. Spieth has appeared on the leaderboard many times this season early in the week, but we have yet to really see him string together four rounds strong enough to truly contend. That will be his challenge this weekend, but with some confidence in his new driver and a new ball that he seems to really like, he will try to give Young a little more heat on his big moving day.
Scottie Scheffler had a front row seat to Young’s incredible play the first two days, and after the world No. 1’s recent slow start on Thursday, he stepped up a gear on Friday with a bogey-free 67 to break into the top 10. Scheffler was able to get back on track with his ball-striking, hitting 15 greens in the second round and was able to move on to his hitting, although he would have liked to be a little more accurate with his putter. Distance for the weekend. Scheffler has to take seven shots, but we’ve seen time and time again this season that once he figures things out on Friday, he tends to continue that charge and come out late on Saturday and Sunday.
Perhaps the most surprising name in the top 10 is Alex Fitzpatrick. He is looking to make it the Fitzpatrick brothers’ third straight win on the PGA Tour after winning last week’s Zurich Classic alongside his brother Matt to earn his tour card.
Updated Cadillac Championship odds and picks
Odds from FanDuel Sportsbook
- Cameron Young (5/11)
- Scotty Scheffler (7-1)
- Jordan Spieth (15-1)
- Gary Woodland (30-1)
- Nick Taylor (33-1)
- Kim Si Woo (33-1)
I liked Young this week and through 36 holes he’s proven to be in a different class, but the opportunity to buy Young for value may be gone at this point. Scheffler is certainly live and knows what he typically does on weekends at this position. I think Kim and Woodland also have some value as sprinklers given Kim’s ability to go deep, and Woodland’s distance should provide him with ample opportunity to close Young’s lead if the leader fails at all. It certainly feels like this will be the weekend where Young solidifies his status as one of the top stars on tour, but we’ve seen all year long that players who come into the weekend with big leads end up facing big challenges.
