On June 22, Cameron Young was just one of the students at taking part in the annual moving up ceremony.
But, it's probably safe to say no one else at that ceremony has accomplished what he has on the links.
That’s because on June 8, Young won the 92nd Westchester Golf Association Amateur Championship at the Trump National Golf Club-Hudson Valley in Hopewell Junction. That would be quite an achievement for anybody, especially someone like Young who just turned 14 on May 7.
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Young is the youngest winner in the tournament's history.
“I played as well as I possibly could for six straight rounds,” Young said. "I really didn’t miss any shots. I just played better than I ever have for six straight rounds. To play that well for that long was something that I never have ever done before.”
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To be able to perform at his best at such a prestigious event meant a lot to Young.
“It was fun,” Young said. “It was nice to have the confidence to know that you are going to hit the shot that you want to almost every time.”
Young was recognized at a recent school soard meeting for his accomplishment and said that he appreciated that the board took the time to acknowledge what he had done.
“That was nice that they were paying attention, that they recognized what I was doing and what I had done,” Young said.
In order to continue to play at the level he played at in Hopewell Junction, Young realizes that he has to play against the best competition possible.
“It’s just the experience of having to play under pressure, every shot counts,” Young said. “Just having that mindset, it positively helps.”
That is why Young was scheduled on June 27-28 to take part in the Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA) IKE Championship at the Somerset Hills Country Club in Bernardsville, NJ.
Young said he will also try to play either at the Westchester Open July 11-12 at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase or the Met Junior Championship on July 12-14 at the Fairmount Country Club in Chatham, NJ.
One of the tournament experiences that showed what was to come for Young came in 2009 when he placed 10th out of 141 participants in the 12-year-old boys division in the US Kids Golf World Championship in Pinehurst, N.C.
“That was fun,” Young said. “I got to play with some of the kids I had been reading about. It was just fun to see how they play and see what I had to shoot for.”
As for long-term goals to shoot for, Young said that he would like to play golf in college.
“I don’t know how far I will go with it,” Young said. “It just depends on what it develops into.”
For Young to put himself in position to play in college four years from now, he said that he has to constantly practice on his game, specifically chipping and putting.
"Those are my keys because most days I hit the ball fairly well,” Young said.
What has helped Young and his rapid growth in the game of golf is his family’s involvement in the game. His dad David is the head pro at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, his mom Barbara play plays on the Sleepy Hollow women’s team at the country club and aunt Marjorie Jones, his mother’s older sister, is a teaching pro at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan.
“It helps a lot, I can always talk to my parents about the game,” Young said. “I love when I am able to spend time with my mom and dad playing nine holes in the afternoon.”
