AUGUSTA, Ga. — Cameron Young was there again.
The 25-year-old who grew up playing golf at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, finished tied for seventh at the Masters at 6-under par, a far cry from the experience of his first last year, when he missed the cut after shooting a pair of 77s.
“I feel like I played really well,’’ Young said after his final-round 68. “I think I made three doubles with no penalty strokes, so that is a bummer. Yeah, that’s about how I feel. I was proud of the way I played. I just didn’t quite score as well as I could have.’’
Young, who’s made it a habit to contend in major championships early in his career, is still seeking his first PGA Tour victory.
He has six runner-up finishes and two third-place finishes in 38 events played, and finished second at the British Open and third at the PGA last year.
“I am really comfortable,’’ he said. “I really didn’t have any first-tee nerves, and I don’t know, I think the more I’m out here, the more I see these golf courses, I think they just generally suit my game quite well. I’ve obviously proven to myself that I can compete and contend in them. I have no reason, I think, not to continue to do that.
“I just finished [tied for seventh] at the Masters,” he went on. “Obviously, there’s no one out here that doesn’t want to win, myself included, and it’s a bummer to feel like I played well enough to win and to just come up a few short. It’s just frustrating in the moment.’’
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler was on the verge of becoming the first player to defend his Masters title all week, but he never got very close.
Scheffler made a run, getting to 6-under par after a birdie on 11 and was four shots back of the lead.
But then he airmailed his tee shot on 12 over the green and took double bogey.
He finished 4-under for the week, well behind Jon Rahm, the winner.
“I did some really good things and some really bad things and made a few mental errors,’’ Scheffler said. “I didn’t feel like I was far off from competing with a lot of weird stuff happening, and so that gives me some confidence moving forward. I obviously wished I would have played significantly better this week and had a chance going into Sunday.’’
Scheffler entered the week ranked No. 1 in the world, a title Rahm snatched from him Sunday with the victory.
Sam Bennett, the 23-year-old amateur who captured the imagination of golf fans everywhere at Augusta this week, finished the week 2-under par as not only the low amateur but the only of the seven amateurs in the field to make the cut.
Bennett shot a pair of 68s in the first two rounds and was 8-under par through 36 holes.
He couldn’t maintain that form in the final 36, shooting 76-74.
“I’m going to need some time when I get back to decompress and really look back and enjoy it,’’ Bennett said of the week. “I haven’t had kids yet, so that walk up 18 was definitely the coolest experience of my life. I didn’t play how I wanted to this weekend, but this experience playing the weekend at Augusta is definitely going to help me be the golfer I want to be.’’
Bennett conceded to being “tired this weekend.’’
“My body wasn’t moving how it should be,’’ he said. “I think I need to get in a little better shape, get in the gym. It showed, just like at the U.S. Am, I competed with the best and now out here on this stage. I’ve seen how the top dogs kind of play and what they’re made of, so I think I can hang in with them.’’