Built by Family: The Story Behind Cameron Young's Golf Success

A love for golf runs deep in the Young Family.

David Young, PGA, recently retired as the director of golf at the renowned Sleepy Hollow Country Club after a long and distinguished career as a PGA of America Golf Professional. Barbara Young is an excellent player as well. She played professionally for a short time and then ran a mini tour that offered playing opportunities for aspiring female professionals.

You may have heard of their son, Cameron Young.

Cameron's golf career has been steadily progressing, from junior golf success highlighted by playing on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team in 2014 to a storied college career at Wake Forest to winning the 2022 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year award, then capturing the Wyndham Championship and starring on the U.S. Ryder Cup Team at Bethpage Black in 2025.

And 2026 just became more exciting for the Young Family as Cam claimed victory at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

Reflecting on their coach - player relationship, David Young, PGA, shared, “It just works. We think a lot alike. When we golf together, when we hit balls together, it never feels forced… even when we work on his swing.”

Cameron attributed much of his early success to his dad and his job. “It's because of the PGA that he has had the job he had for the last many years,” Cameron said late Saturday. “Without that at Sleepy Hollow, I don't start playing at four years old or earlier. I don't have the access that I did growing up. I started playing in PGA junior events when I was nine, eight, something like that."

Cameron's mom Barbara also has played a huge role, assuming many titles beyond just "Mom" including caddie, nutritionist, chauffeur and many more as she helped her son achieve his dreams.

Wearing both the coach and the parent hat can be tricky, especially as David moves on from his career at Sleepy Hollow and focuses solely on coaching Cameron.

After a round, David and Cameron don't typically sit together and go over every single hole, every single shot, and every single mistake. Instead, they have a healthier parent/child approach to a post-round recap. 

“If he plays well, there is not much to talk about. If he plays okay, we may chat about a few things. If he does not play how he wants to- that’s when I just let him vent for a while,” David says.

“It’s a really, really easy relationship for us,” David shares. “It’s not real tricky. First and foremost, he’s my son, and most of the time is spent in that relationship. Every once in a while, we’ll do a little work if he needs to. And mostly it’s him tinkering, finding something that he thinks works, just making sure it makes sense, and looks OK, and makes sense from a mechanics standpoint.”

That approach seems to be working well. In addition to his Rookie of the Year award and recent victories, Cameron has been one of the most consistent players on tour over the last few years, accumulating numerous top-5s and top-10s, including top-10 finishes in all four Major Championships, highlighted by a T3 finish at the 2022 PGA Championship.

“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.”

Adding a Players Championship win to their long list of achievements further cements this father-son team in the history books, and we're excited to see what other dreams they can realize in the future.