Cameron Young, You Have Our Attention at the Rocket Classic

When Cameron Young first started making noise on the PGA TOUR, it felt like he was poised to win 10-15 times, including a couple majors. In 2022, he made 25 starts and finished inside the top-25 12 times, the top-10 seven times, and earned himself five(!!) silver medals on the PGA TOUR. That campaign was good enough to earn PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year honors.

He wasn’t knocking on the door, he was getting ready to put a sledgehammer through it.

Fast forward to mid-2025, and CYoung has yet to enter the winner’s circle and has suffered from a hot-and-cold game. Just this season, he’s missed six cuts in 18 starts and finished T-47 or worse five times. But he’s also grabbed three top-10s in his last six starts, including back-to-back T-4s at the RBC Canadian Open and U.S. Open.

It feels like he’s getting ready to pick up that sledgehammer again.

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And he couldn’t draw up a better place to do it than Detroit Golf Club. This place is built for his game. The next four days will boil down to these two things: how far can you hit it off the tee and how close can you hit wedges?

Young’s already shown that he can handle that challenge pretty well, all he’s missing is a W.

In two appearances at this Donald Ross design, Young’s finished tied for second in 2022 and for sixth a year ago. He’s currently ranked 17th on TOUR in driving distance, and has the qualities under the hood to make a lot of birdies—ninth in Strokes Gained: Putting, 14th in birdie or better percentage—something that’s required at the Rocket Classic, where four of the six winners of the tournament have been 23-under or deeper after 72 holes.

So with all this in mind, it’s pretty easy to see why I think he’s prepped for a breakthrough win in the Motor City, and I’m not alone there.

But is it so obvious that we’ll get one of those stale performances from the World No. 39 that will either result in an MC or underwhelming finish?

I guess that’s why they don’t play the tournament on paper.

If he needs a little extra motivation to seize the opportunity, Young currently sits 17th in the U.S. Team Rankings for the Ryder Cup, meaning a win would go a long, long way to earning a spot on Keegan Bradley’s squad.

He’s donned the red, white, and blue for Team USA at a Presidents Cup (2022), but the Ryder Cup would be a whole different animal.

So, to say there’s a lot on the line for CYoung this week in Detroit might be a little bit of an understatement. But everything about his form, course history, and game align perfectly with this golf course and tournament.

He’s just gotta get the job done.