Trip pays putting dividends for Young
After being betrayed by his putter for longer than he cares to remember, Carson Young made and appointment to visit Scotty Cameron to be fitted for a club that would cure those woes on the green. Before he made the cross-country journey to California, he suddenly sizzled on the summer amateur golf circuit.
The biggest reason: His putting, of course.
He finally made the journey to the West Coast … after he lost the Carolinas Amateur in a playoff, placed fourth in the Palmetto Amateur and won the South Carolina Amateur.
He laughed at the incongruity, but knows if the summer performances provide a precursor to the college season, the possibilities for his senior season at Clemson are boundless.
“Putting has definitely made the difference this summer,” Young said after last week’s hurried trip to get fitted for a new putter, play a round at Torrey Pines and red-eye flight home. “I’ve been driving the ball well and hitting greens, and I finally made some putts.”
After an opening 76 in the Carolinas Amateur, he played 10 of his final 11 rounds of the summer under par and once again resembled the player who won the Sage Valley Junior Invitational over an international field, captured the Carolinas Amateur before his senior year at Pendleton High and earned his first South Carolina Amateur crown prior to enrolling at Clemson.
Young outdueled Wofford golfer Andrew Novak (Mt. Pleasant), the 2014 State Amateur champion, in the final round of the State Amateur at DeBordieu near Georgetown, winning, for a change, from the lead. He charged from off the pace in his past “big” wins, including the 2013 State Amateur at the Members Club’s Woodcreek Course.
Those victories came thanks to what he calls the turning point in his development, his triumph over some of the world’s best junior golfers at Sage Valley. Although he had amassed a shelf full of trophies, he said, “Until then, I didn’t have confidence in myself at that level. Winning that tournament showed me I could complete successfully against some of the best junior players in the world.”
Nevertheless, Young is still searching for his first individual college title. He led the Tigers in the NCAA Regional tourney his freshman year, then a knee injury that required surgery torpedoed his sophomore season. He came back to earn first-team All-ACC honors on both the course and in the classroom in 2015-16.
“I haven’t played as well in college as I would have liked, especially after the success I had in junior golf and in high school,” Young said. “After this summer, I have my confidence back, and I’m looking forward to my senior year.”
He looks back at developing his game under pro Harvey Brock at Boscobel Country Club near his Pendleton home. His currently hones his game under the tutelage of Hall of Fame pro Jackie Seawell at Houndslake in Aiken. His future goal centers on professional golf and the PGA Tour.
Like most of his generation, he admired Tiger Woods and “of course wanted to play like him,” Young said. “But right now, my favorite pro is Freddie Couples. He has that smooth, easy swing. He looks like he makes the game fun.”
Young’s game this summer and the possibilities for his senior college season are like that, too.
Chip shots
The U.S. Amateur begins on Monday at Oakland Hills CC in Bloomfield Hills. Mich., with six players with state connections in the field: Todd White (Spartanburg), Ryan Stachler (Alpharetta, Ga/USC), Bryson Nimmer (Bluffton/Clemson), Jeremy Grab (Daniel Island/Wofford), Austin James (Charleston Southern) and recent Clemson graduate Miller Capps (Denver, N.C.). … Jacob Bridgman (Inman) edged Trent Phillips (Inman) in a playoff to capture the boys title, and Ellie Johnson (Inman) earned the girls championship in the Beth Daniel Junior Azalea at the CC of Charleston. … Ryan Marter (Columbia), Levi Moody (Greenville) and Zack Gordon (Gaffney) helped the Carolinas team to an 8.5-7.5 win in the Carolinas-Virginias Junior Team Matches in Wallace, N.C. … Taylor Dodson (Aiken) paired with Gardner-Webb teammate Sarah Bertram (Concord, N.C.) to win the CGA’s Women’s Four-Ball Championship at the Cliffs at Keowee Falls in Salem. … Georgia defeated South Carolina 18-6 in the Girls’ Junior Challenge Matches in Savannah.