'Basically Impossible' - Cameron Young On Brutal Masters Conditions
Speaking after his second round, the American explained just how tough Augusta National is, playing in the rain and cold temperatures
After play was suspended on Friday afternoon at The Masters, players returned to the golf course at 8.00am on Saturday to complete their second rounds. However, it wasn't going to be easy, with temperatures dropping over 10°C and the rain pounding Augusta National.
One of the players who was in contention, that had to return, was Cameron Young, with the American level-par for his round and five-under for the tournament. As he made his way onto the course, the 25-year-old birdied the 10th, with two more birdies, one bogey and one double bogey meaning he ended the day in exactly the same place as where he started it, five-under.
Asked about the conditions, Young had a relatively blunt and sarcastic response, stating: "Oh, it was easy. Greens were soft. It was nice and warm.
"Yeah, I mean it's basically impossible. I don't really know what you're supposed to do. It's playing so long.
"I mean, I hit a great shot on 18, I think it landed in a puddle. So it's hard. But I played well, honestly. The double on 17 is a bummer but, other than that, I couldn't have done much better."
Amongst his bogeys was a six at the recently extended par 5 13th, with Young losing his footing on the pine straw that surrounds the fairway. However, it was the driver which the American felt was the hardest aspect to control in the rain and cold temperatures, as Young explained that "driving is difficult because if the driver face gets wet, even in your preshot routine, which happened to me twice today, they tend to just squirt right."
This is exactly what happened to Young on the holes he dropped shots on, with his drive at the 13th being blasted right into the trees, whilst his tee shot on the 17th went so far right that he had to chip down the opposite fairway as he made a double bogey six.
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"I think physically that's a really difficult part. Mentally it's obviously hard just because you're generally not having the most fun out there," added Young, who starts the third round seven back of leader, Brooks Koepka.
"You can't afford to make doubles. Bogeys can be okay. You kind of just have to be thankful when you have a putt for birdie because it's going to play really long and no one's going to be very comfortable out there."
Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover weekend news and social media, as well as help look after Golf Monthly’s many buyers’ guides and equipment reviews.
Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. He currently plays at Witney Lakes in Oxfordshire and his favourite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.
Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?
Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°
Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2, 15°, 19°
Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid, 22°
Irons: Mizuno MP54, 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°
Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
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