Cameron Young is on fire at the Cadillac Championship, and he's making it look easy. After a stellar 5-under-par 67 on Friday at Trump National Doral's legendary "Blue Monster" course near Miami, Young has built a commanding five-shot lead heading into the weekend. Sitting pretty at 13-under 131, he's already halfway to what could be a dream Florida double after his biggest career win at The Players Championship just six weeks ago.
The PGA Tour's return to this iconic venue for the first time since 2016 has brought plenty of drama. Young's closest challengers? Alex Smalley, who found trouble with a watery bogey on No. 18, is tied for second at 8-under with Canada's Nick Taylor and three-time major winner Jordan Spieth. Taylor carded a solid 70, while Spieth and Smalley managed 71s after starting the day just one shot back of Young.
Young's round was a clinic in consistency. He opened with birdies on four of his first seven holes (Nos. 1, 3, 5, and 7), but what really impressed him was his ability to dodge disaster. "I think I just managed misses really well," Young said. "I putted really well. I feel like I just took advantage of the opportunities I had." He added birdies at the par-3 13th and par-4 16th to offset his only bogey of the day at No. 14, which came from a rare misstep.
One of the day's most memorable moments came at the 13th hole, where Young's 16-foot birdie putt seemed destined to miss—until it took a dramatic second break and curled into the cup. "I was absolutely disgusted about halfway there," he admitted with a grin. "I thought it was going to go left, then right, but somehow it worked out."
Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth is lurking, still searching for his first win since the 2022 RBC Heritage. His round was a rollercoaster: he sat at 1-over through 15 holes before rallying with birdies on the 16th and 18th. Calling the final hole "one of the harder holes I've played on the PGA Tour," Spieth's grit keeps him in the mix. For golf fans, this no-cut, $20 million signature event is shaping up to be a weekend to remember—and Young's hot streak has everyone watching.