SOUTHPORT \u2013 Cameron Young was waiting on the range at Royal Birkdale, driver in hand, when a huge roar came that he didn\u2019t want to hear.<\/p>\n
Just a stone\u2019s throw away on the 18th green, Ryan Fox had holed a 12-foot birdie putt<\/a> to win the British Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n There\u2019d be no playoff for Young.<\/p>\n No chance to end his wait for a first major championship title.<\/p>\n The American bowed his head, swung his driver gently over his shoulder then back onto the ground, and trudged off.<\/p>\n Some 2\u00bd hours earlier, Young had been on that 18th hole himself, getting up-and-down from a greenside bunker \u2014 he actually nearly holed it<\/a> \u2014 to salvage bogey and shoot 64 for what would remain the lowest score of the final round.<\/p>\n Then came the long, agonizing wait to discover whether his 9-under 271 total would be enough to win.<\/p>\n Young had some food, cleared out his locker \u2014 \u201cfor efficiency\u2019s sake,\u201d he said \u2014 and spent some time in the players\u2019 lounge.<\/p>\n By 6 p.m., he was practicing on the putting green.<\/p>\n And around half an hour later, the spectators in the huge grandstands lining one of the most famous walks in golf gave him the bad news.<\/p>\n Add Birkdale to the 29-year-old Young’s close calls at the majors, following a runner-up finish at the British Open in 2022 \u2014 he made eagle on the final hole to be one stroke back from Cameron Smith at St. Andrews \u2014 and a tie for third at the Masters this year after sharing the 54-hole lead.<\/p>\n Now up to No. 4 in the world, the widespread belief in golfing circles is that Young’s time will come. That’s because he has risen to elite company this year with wins at The Players Championship<\/a> in March and the Cadillac Championship<\/a> at Doral, in front of President Donald Trump, a couple of months later.<\/p>\n Young says his score \u2018could have been 60\u2019<\/p>\n Speaking after his round, Young said he thought 10-under par would have a \u201cdecent chance\u201d of victory.<\/p>\n So it proved.<\/p>\n And he would have got there \u2014 or maybe better \u2014 had he not found a fairway bunker on No. 18 after choosing to hit driver. He barely got out of the sand with his second shot that struck the top of the bunker wall and spilled out 20 yards forward, and went on to scramble bogey.<\/p>\n A par there would have seen him match the lowest final-round score in a major.<\/p>\n A birdie? Well, that would have won him the whole thing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt could have been 60,\u201d Young said of his round that included a front-nine 29.<\/p>\n \u201cI played a great round of golf,\u201d he added, \u201cand I did it in a really good way.\u201d<\/p>\n Young’s thoughts after Fox completed victory are a mystery because he declined to talk to the media.<\/p>\n He surely will regret his 3-over 73 on Saturday that came after two 67s and dropped him to a tie for 20th overnight.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a chance to win with not everything I\u2019ve got,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I think that\u2019s a good takeaway.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n