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Early and often Cameron Young attacked Harbour Town Golf Links Thursday morning. Putting together a mistake-free opening round, the Wake Forest product connected on eight birdies against zero bogeys to sign for an 8-under 63.
With a reputation as a bomber, some may be surprised to see the long-hitting rookie atop the leaderboard at a venue like Harbour Town. Ranking first in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, the 24-year-old sits 15th in SG: Off-the-Tee, second in SG: Approach, 19th in SG: Around-the-Green, as well as 16th in SG: Putting.
A well-balanced effort, the world No. 50 was asked about his thoughts on this week’s venue. Young said, “I think it’s a really nice mix. There’s some holes that are 480. There’s a couple of long par-5s, but there’s also some holes where you have to pick a really smart shot off the tee. So, I think it’s a fun mix of holes.”
Adding, “You can’t get around there without thinking for sure. I think the preparation for a lot of tee shots is very important. And I think -- I mean, it can get pretty windy out there, so you have to really pick your spots where you think you can be a little aggressive and places where you just can’t.”
Windy indeed as the forecast is calling for steady 15 mph winds on Friday. Off in the afternoon, it is possible Young will not see his name at the top of the leaderboard by the time he begins his second round. As our friends at PointsBet Sportsbook have Joaquin Niemann and Patrick Cantlay spearheading their odds boards despite trailing by two and three-strokes respectively.
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Updated Odds to Win (Odds Via PointsBet):
+750: Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Cantlay
+800: Cameron Young
+900: Shane Lowry
+1200: Corey Conners
+2200: Sepp Straka, Tyrrell Hatton
+2500: Collin Morikawa, Harold Varner III
+2800: Mito Pereira
+3300: Justin Thomas, Matt Fitzpatrick, Russell Henley
+4000: Patton Kizzire, Stewart Cink, Webb Simpson, Matthias Schwab
+5000: Jordan Spieth
+6600: Aaron Wise, Adam Svensson, Billy Horschel, Denny McCarthy, Dustin Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Sungjae Im, Kevin Kisner, Matt Kuchar, Si Woo Kim
+8000: Adam Hadwin, Alex Noren, Kevin Na, Troy Merritt
+10000: Cameron Tringale, Chad Ramey, J.T. Poston
Friday Plays:
Joaquin Niemann +5000 to win the PGA Championship at PointsBet:
Joaquin Niemann +5500 to win the U.S. Open at BetRivers:
Joaquin Niemann +6600 to win The Open at BetRivers:
As mentioned, tomorrow looks rather breezy on Hilton Head Island as gusts up to 30 mph are expected throughout the day. So, instead of targeting a few matchups (which were finally kind to us last week), I will look ahead to the next three major championships. The future selections for the Masters, outside of Shane Lowry who we added for the PGA Championship at +6000 on Monday, were a bit of a dud with Harris English and Louis Oosthuizen both nursing injuries.
While I am more confident with those upcoming, the way in which Niemann has performed in 2022 almost feels underappreciated and lost in the hype of Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Smith. Now up to No. 15 in the Official World Golf Rankings, the next step in the young Chilean’s career progression is contention in a major championship. A winner in a major championship caliber field at a major championship type venue, Niemann’s tee-to-green prowess over the last three months has simply been exceptional.
Among eligible PGA Tour players, Niemann ranks sixth in SG: Tee-to-Green by way of 13th in SG: Off-the-Tee, 17th in SG: Approach, and arguably most important, sixth in SG: Around-the-Green. Well-known for his effectiveness off-the-tee, the addition of an efficient short-game puts Niemann’s name among the game’s elite as he is the only player on Tour to rank inside the top-20 in each metric over this span.
Despite this, Niemann has received relatively little attention for the upcoming major championships. Below you will see his line movement at PointsBet for the PGA Championship (which has dipped back down to +5000), the U.S. Open, and The Open. This can all be found at NBC Sports EDGE+ and is honestly one of my favorite features of the website.
A suitable candidate for Southern Hills where not only driving competence, but a crafty short-game will be required, the 23-year-old should fare well in Tulsa, despite it being Scheffler’s favorite course in the world – in case you have not heard.
Southern Hills is where I believe Niemann has the greatest likelihood to succeed, but that is not to say The Country Club and The Old Course at St. Andrews are lost causes. The current state of his game has the capability to travel to any course in any conditions making Niemann an investment for not only next month, but for the rest of the summer.
Futures Update:
PGA Championship: Joaquin Niemann (+5000), Shane Lowry (+6000), Jason Kokrak (+10000), Talor Gooch (+21000)
U.S. Open: Joaquin Niemann (+5500), Billy Horschel (+13000)
Open Championship: Joaquin Niemann (+6600), Sam Burns (+9000)
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