Dad's Advice Guides Cameron Young's Ryder Cup Debut at Bethpage Black

David and Cameron Young heard in 2013 that the Ryder Cup would be coming to Bethpage State Park’s Black Course just over a decade later. Even though Young, the son, was just in high school, this particular event was already circled on the calendar.

“At that point (in 2014) Cam (played) on the Junior Ryder Cup team and had this in his sights since way back then. Bethpage has always been special to us,” David says. “As a PGA Member, to have the PGA of America’s biggest event at a course we love so much – it’s hard to describe just how much it means.

“We’ve been looking forward to it for a long time.”

David Young has had a storied historical connection to golf in New York, having recently retired as director of golf at the iconic Sleepy Hollow Country Club. The relationship alongside son Cameron has been long documented, but Young, the elder, has been the only coach his son has ever had.

Cameron Young has had a tremendous run up golf’s ladder of success and finally broke through for his maiden PGA Tour title this summer. He had seven top-11 finishes in his final 10 starts in 2025 (including the breakthrough title at the Wyndham Championship) and was picked by Keegan Bradley to make his first Ryder Cup team.

“Cam has been one of the most consistent players on the Tour the last four or five years. He broke through with that amazing win at the Wyndham Championship, and he's been fighting so hard,” Bradley said at the time of his pick. “We're very proud to have a New Yorker on our team and represent his country at Bethpage Black.”

Young has had plenty of success at Bethpage Black in his career, the highlight being winning the New York State Open as an amateur, setting the course record in the process with a 64 in the final round – a record only to be broken by Brooks Koepka en route to winning the PGA Championship in 2019.

“To me, this Ryder Cup in particular, in New York at Bethpage, is so special to me,” Cameron said on the day he was picked. “I've been picturing the moment that I can possibly get a call to play on the team for a very, very long time.”

David Young is quick to explain that there wasn’t a precise moment when he thought his son would be able to make golf his full-time living but instead was always impressed with his consistent ability to continue to have success – no matter the level he played. Cameron was a multi-time winner at Wake Forest and after earning a PGA Tour card for the first time, he won the 2022 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award.

“We were encouraged at every level. He had success at every level, which made you think he had a chance at the next level,” David says. “We were pretty sure he could do it, but you don’t really know until he gets out there for real.”

Cameron famously (or perhaps, infamously) had seven runner-up results before finally breaking through for his first Tour title. His first win came firmly in the middle of his most consistent run of success on Tour and because of that, he was rewarded with a selection from Bradley (Young also played for the American side at the 2022 Presidents Cup) at Bethpage Black which, he calls, one of his “favorite places in the world.”

“We’re really happy for him. To get that first win and get chosen for this team – this has been his goal for a long time. The win was the first step to getting to this goal,” David says. “As a Dad I’m just really happy for him and his family and to accomplish some of his big career goals. As a coach you get some satisfaction that you helped a little bit – or at least didn’t hurt. It was great on all levels."

“As a family, as a coach It’s just all dreams coming true and it’s hard to put into words what it means or feels like, but we feel very fortunate.”

Now, of course, things shift to how Cameron will do as someone who is not just from New York but has a hearty connection to the club where the very first Ryder Cup hosted by the Met PGA section is set to take place.

David Young says his son likes the opportunity to tee it up in “the big spots” and the message – as coach – won’t change much. Just telling Cameron to “be you” will be key.

“We’ve been to a couple of Ryder Cups, and we know what the first tee can be like, and I expect this one is going to be even busier and louder. I expect a pretty partisan crowd, but especially for the guy from New York,” David says with a laugh, “I’m expecting some record-level partisanship, I think.”