By the end of the 2025 season, Cameron Young had arrived on the PGA Tour stage.
Midway through the year, he was a story of untapped potential. Along with Tommy Fleetwood, he was one of the best players in the world without a PGA Tour win, and we were waiting for the 28-year-old to break through.
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Then, Young won the Wyndham Championship and went on to be one of Team USA’s best players at the Ryder Cup, winning his Sunday singles match against Justin Rose during America’s charge.
Many expected Young to take the next step in 2026 and become one of the premier players on tour week in, week out, but that hasn’t materialized. Instead, he’s finished outside of the top 20 in each of his first three starts. That has shocked CBS’s Johnson Wagner.
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Cameron Young hasn’t met Johnson Wagner’s pre-season expectations
Instead of hitting the ground running like Wagner and many others expected, Young has stalled in 2026, and that has shocked the CBS analyst.
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Wagner told Golf on CBS’ YouTube channel: “Cameron Young, he’s 74th in the FedEx Cup, I think, after he won Wyndham last year. The way he played at the Ryder Cup, I’m shocked.
“He’s made all three cuts. His best finish is a T-22, but when you look at these West Coast venues that he’s playing, I think he was a hot pick last week at Pebble just the way he drives the golf ball.
“I know he’s played Riv pretty decently, but he just doesn’t seem to have it. And I was really expecting him to break out on this West Coast and sort of climb into that top 15 in the world and say, ‘Hey, I’m here and and I’m going to be I’m going to be tough to beat this year.’
“And so far, we haven’t seen it.”
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But judging from his past appearances, perhaps this week could be the breakthrough.
Cameron Young’s history at Riviera Country Club
This week, the PGA Tour heads to Riviera Country Club for the final stop of the West Coast Swing: The Genesis Invitational.
For Cameron Young, The Riviera Country Club isn’t just another stop on the PGA Tour; it’s the site of his professional coming-out party. While many players find Riviera’s challenge intimidating, Young has found no such trouble.
His 2022 performance remains one of the best showings of his young career. Opening with a blistering 66 and followed by a career-defining 62 in the second round, Young dominated the course.
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Though he eventually finished T2, two strokes behind Joaquin Niemann, that week proved his game was built for the most difficult golf courses on the planet.
In the years following, Young has maintained an impressive floor at the Genesis Invitational. His T20 in 2023 and T16 in 2024 demonstrate a level of comfort that few others in the field possess. Even when his putter cooled, his ability to navigate Hogan’s Alley with precision kept him in the red.
As the 2026 tournament begins, Young remains one of the most consistent performers at this venue. While a victory has remained elusive, his track record suggests that as long as he is striking the ball well, he is a perennial threat to lift the trophy at one of golf’s most prestigious venues.
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