PGA Championship
Rocket Mortgage Classic preview: Cameron Young hunting first win
The PGA Tour heads to Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan for the Rocket Mortgage Classic this week. Some of the games biggest stars will take to the course, including Cameron Young, who was runner up at The Open and world number four Patrick Cantlay.
We preview the action below.
Cantlay a worthy favourite
The American has been in some good form recently coming into this tournament finishing in the top 14 at the US Open and improving to finish top eight at The Open earlier this month. At 11/1, he is the favourite for to take home the trophy and he has every chance of living up to expectations.
Whilst he is not an exceptional ball striker off the tee Cantlay’s accuracy all round game makes him one of the most consistent players. He ranks just 55th in the world in terms of driving distance but his precision sees him gain .513 shots off the tee, making him the 19th best player off the tee.
When going for the green he is one of the best players on the tour, attacking the greens consistently, ranking 10th and eighth respectively when going for the green and when going for the green for birdie or better.
He is also handy with the putter, gaining .521 shots on average with the putter, the 19th best on the tour. With a one putt percentage of 42,52%, the 16th best on the tour, he holes a lot of birdie putts. This sees him averaging 4.48 birdies per round which is the fourth highest total average on tour. His scoring is his strongest asset as he has the sixth lowest scoring average on the tour at 69.35.
On the back of that fine run in The Open, he should go very well again here and will certainly have his supporters.
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Young out for maiden Tour win
Having never won on the PGA Tour Cameron Young still has ample time to do so at just 25-years-old. The American will want to get his first win out the way sooner rather than later and has come very close to doing so twice this season finishing top three at the PGA Championship and second behind Cameron Smith at The Open earlier this month.
Young is 20/1 fourth favourite heading into the tournament and has every chance of walking away with the trophy if he can keep it tidy around the greens. His abilities off the tee are unquestionable as he gains an average of .942 of the tee – the second best on the tour this season. This often sees him into good positions off the tee but his approach and performance on the greens is what has held him back from winning his first PGA tournament.
He was superb at The Open, though, and he’ll take huge amounts of confidence from sticking with Smith for as long as he did. He could have easily dropped off during the final round, but he showed no signs of being a PGA Tour maiden and looks a serious threat this week.
