ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Cameron Young said Saturday night he was going to need to do “something special’ on Sunday to win the British Open.
Well, he did.
And it still wasn’t enough.
Young, a PGA Tour rookie who’s still seeking his first career victory, recorded his fourth runner-up finish this season when he came up one shot short of Open Championship winner Cameron Smith on Sunday.
The 25-year-old Young had been openly rankled about his propensity to fall tantalizingly short in so many tournaments this year. He also has two third-place finishes, including at the PGA Championship in May at Southern Hills, where he had a piece of the lead with four holes to play.
Cameron Young reacts after missing a putt on the 18th green during the final round of the British Open. APBut this close call felt different. This runner-up, while gutting, wasn’t like the others.
Young — from Scarborough, N.Y., and a product of Fordham Prep and Sleepy Hollow Country Club, where his father, David, has been the head pro for two decades — shot a final-round 7-under 65, and that was climaxed by an eagle on the 72nd hole.
“I gave myself a really nice chance,’’ Young said. “Frustrating to come up short, but overall, I think I had a really good week. I hung in there really well today. It probably hurts a little worse to come up one shot short. If you lose by eight, you don’t really care. But I played well today, and I would have signed up for 65 this morning. To watch Cameron shoot what he did, it was pretty amazing.’’
Young and Smith, paired together for the second consecutive round, entered the final day at 12-under, four shots behind leaders Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland. They were the second-to-last group out.
Young’s 65 was bettered only by Smith’s 64.
Cameron Young reacts during the final round of the British Open. REUTERSYoung said he felt he “handled’’ the pressure of the day “pretty well.’’
“I’ve at least been around the lead a lot this year — on the PGA Tour, in a major, so it’s not the first time I’ve been in that situation,’’ he said. “The more I put myself there, one of these times I’ll shoot 5-under on the back and that will be enough. Today I did and it wasn’t.
“So, I guess one of these times I’ll shoot 6 [under] on the back on Sunday and that will be enough.’’
His day did not begin like one in which he was going to be in contention to the final hole. He three-putted the first green to fall five shots behind the leaders.
“On 1, the second putt just kind of didn’t do what I thought,’’ Young said. “I just thought it went a little right and it went a little left.’’
He played next six holes in 4-under to climb to 15-under and push himself back into contention. His only hiccup was a bogey on No. 9.
Cameron Young misses a putt on the 15th green during the final round of the British Open. AP“I was just trying to hit one really hard and turning right to left and I just overdid it,’’ he said. “Probably not the best decision I made, not the best shot I hit today. Just one of those times.’’
Young then shot a sizzling 5-under 31 on the back nine, bettered only by the 30 Smith posted.
“Watching [Smith] make a million birdies in a row is in one sense good because it pushes you, and in another sense it’s hard to watch because you see him making putts, knowing that he’s kind of beating you,’’ Young said. “But I stuck to my plan and the process of what had gotten me there really well. [It’s] not necessarily that I didn’t [do that] at the PGA Championship, but I don’t know if I let it come to me as much as I did today.
“I was a little bit more patient today and I obviously was rewarded on 18, but just came up a little bit short.’’
