Young Named PGA Rookie of the Year
10/19/2022 1:30:00 PM | Men's Golf
Wake Forest becomes the first school in PGA history to win the award in back-to-back seasons.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Wake Forest men's golf alum Cameron Young was voted as the Arnold Palmer Award winner for the 2021-22 season Wednesday, given to the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year.
This marks the second consecutive season that a Demon Deacon has claimed the award as Will Zalatoris took home the prize a season ago. This is the first time in the history of the award that members from the same school have won in back-to-back seasons.
The Rookie of the Year Award, named after the former Demon Deacon legend Arnold Palmer, was just recently renamed in 2019 to pay tribute to one of the game's greatest players.
After qualifying for the PGA Tour with the help of back-to-back wins on the Korn Ferry Tour and finishing in the top 20 of the Korn Ferry Tour standings, Young continued his strong play early in the season, starting with a runner-up finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
It was the first of five runner-up finishes throughout the 2021-22 season for Young. In total he claimed seven top-10 finishes during the year and 12 top-25 placements.
Young announced his presence on the major tournament stage during the PGA Championship at famed Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. He finished just one stroke out of the playoff for the title and tied for third. With his third place finish and Zalatoris' runner-up finish at the tournament, it became the first time that a school had two players inside of the top three since the 1987 PGA Championship when Lanny Wadkins and Scott Hoch (Wake Forest).
It wouldn't be the last time Young made a run at his first major title, posting a runner-up finish at the 150th U.S. Open. The two-time All-American jumped out to a three-shot lead after an opening round of 8-under-par. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Young was just the fifth player in Open Championship history to lead by multiple shots after 18 holes in his tournament debut:
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2022, Cameron Young
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1989, Wayne Stephens
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1982, Bobby Clampett
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1893, John Henry Taylor
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1874, Mungo Park
Young remained in contention all week long and was in the final two groups on both Saturday and Sunday.
After an early bogey to start his Sunday, Young surged on the back nine. He came within two multiple times and entered the famed 18th hole two strokes back of the lead.
After an incredible drive reached the green, he had 15 feet left for an eagle. Young sunk the eagle putt to momentarily take his first share of the lead Sunday at 19-under-par. Moments later, eventual champion Cameron Smith moved to 20-under-par with a birdie on the 18th.
In all four major championships this year, at least one Wake Forest player has finished inside of the top 10 on the leaderboard:
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2022 Open Championship
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Cameron Young (Second)
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2022 U.S. Open
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Will Zalatoris (Tied Second)
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2022 PGA Championship
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Will Zalatoris (Second)
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Cameron Young (Tied Third)
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2022 Masters
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Will Zalatoris (Tied Sixth)
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He finished the season strong including another runner-up finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, helping him qualify for the PGA Tour Championship where he finished 19th. Additionally, he helped the United States defend their title at the Presidents Cup in September at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte.
