Cameron Young Leads by 1 After Bogey-Free 64 at Doral
Cameron Young grabbed the lead at the Cadillac Championship with a bogey-free 8-under 64 on Thursday at Trump International Doral. He goes into the next round one shot ahead of Jordan Spieth and Alex Smalley at the $20 million signature event.
Young at Trump International Doral
Young’s round was built on control and putting. He hit his approach from 154 yards to about an inch on the par-4 second hole, then added three birdie putts from 25 feet or more. Afterward, he said, “I feel like I made a billion feet of putts, which I think works most places” and added, “It's just one of those days that each mistake I made I was not penalized as much as I could have been. And every time my ball got near the hole it seemed to want to go in today.”
He also said, “I think you can be pretty aggressive into a lot of the greens.” Young pointed to softer targets and the danger around the property, saying, “They're not particularly firm. I feel like the ball's sitting when you need it to. So, it's more just about avoiding some of the big mistakes. There's a couple spots where the rough's a little longer and obviously there's tons of water out there.” That left him with no bogeys on a day when precision mattered from the start.
Spieth, Smalley, and Scheffler
Spieth kept the pressure on by chipping in for eagle at the par-5 eighth hole and surviving a pair of bogeys on the back nine. Smalley matched the share of second place after the opening round, while Scottie Scheffler sat at 1 under after making three birdies in his first five holes and then failing to add another birdie the rest of the day.
Scheffler said, “I just wasn't capitalizing on a lot of stuff today.” He added, “Felt like I could have holed a few more putts. Couple more fairways. Felt like when I got a touch off I wasn't able to get it back and didn't really steal any shots today.” That left him well back of Young after 18 holes, even though the world No. 1 opened fast.
Doral After 10 Years Away
The opening round came with extra weight because this was the PGA Tour’s first event at Doral in 10 years. The course had hosted LIV Golf events from 2022 through 2025, and Adam Scott was the most recent PGA Tour winner there before this week, taking the World Golf Championship-Cadillac Championship in 2016.
Scott shot 76 on Thursday, Justin Rose posted 74, Nick Taylor was fourth at 66 and two shots off the lead, and Nico Echavarria carded 67 to sit three back. For Young, the opening round set the standard on a course that asked for sharp driving, clean iron play, and putts that kept falling.
