Cameron Young couldn’t have asked for much more. He went into the final day of the Masters tied for the lead, then built a two-shot margin midway through Sunday’s round.
Well, maybe he could have asked for a little bit more.
The former Wake Forest golfer had a three-putt bogey on the sixth hole, then took another bogey on the seventh when he hit a fairway shot into the bunker. That cost him his lead, and he finished 10 under for the tournament, tied for third, which was worth $1,080,000.
“There is no negative to take away other than obviously I would’ve loved a different result,” Young said. “I pretty much had a birdie chance on every hole and didn’t make any. That’s how it goes sometimes.”
The final round 73 came after a remarkable Saturday, where Young shot 65 and wiped out a big lead for Rory McIlroy, catching the eventual repeat champion atop the leaderboard.
Young set a Masters record, becoming the first player to wipe out an eight-shot deficit in the third round to lead after 54 holes.
“There’s certainly no lead that’s safe out there,” Young said. “But at the same time, Rory loves it here. I don’t think anyone would have been surprised if he went out and shot 65. But if he does open the door, you have to take advantage.”
“I’m owed nothing. My past results don’t dictate what I do tomorrow,” Young said. “I’ve got to go earn whatever I get out of tomorrow, and the best way that I know to do that is kind of try to attack the day like I have the last three.”
Unfortunately, his attack fell just short on Sunday.
Here’s a look at how the other six golfers with North Carolina connections performed at Augusta.
Michael Brennan
The former Demon Decon made his first Masters start at age 24 and was the second-best golfer with N.C. ties. He shot a 72-72-70-73 to finish two under par and tied for 24th. He hired a new putting coach—Marcus Potter—two weeks before the tournament, and that seemed to pay off, literally, as he took home a $182,250 purse.
Ben Griffin
The Chapel Hill native and former East Chapel Hill and UNC golfer also made his Masters debut. He made the cut after shooting 72 and 69 on the first two days and was the top Masters rookie of the 22 to make the cut.
“I’m in great shape,” Griffin told Golfweek on Friday. “Thirty-six holes away from having a chance. That’s all I can ask for, so far. It’s been an incredible experience and just trying to build and continue to believe in myself.”
There was talk of him possibly becoming the first debuting player to win the Masters since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. A 70 on Saturday and a final round 77 scuttled that talk, however. He finished at even par, which was good for a tie for 33rd and $121,500.
Ryan Gerard
The 26-year-old Raleigh native and Ravenscroft graduate was a college teammate of Griffin’s at UNC and also made his Masters debut. That seemed to affect him in Thursday’s first round.
“I was so much more nervous than I thought I was going to be,” Gerard told Ravenscroft Magazine.. “I was like ‘Oh, it’s not that bad. I’ve played majors before. This isn’t too crazy.’ Then I got up there and we’re sitting there for a little bit longer…I probably got to the tee a little bit earlier than I should have because then I was waiting for a while.”
He managed to shoot par on Thursday and again on Friday to make the cut. He finished with a Saturday 68 and Sunday 77 to finish one over and tied for 38th, taking home $101,250.
Akshay Bhatia
The 24-year-old Wake Forest native made news early in the week when former NFL star and social media superstar Jason Kelce served as his caddy for the Par 3 contest. He didn’t finish above par in that, or in either of his two rounds in the Masters, shooting 73 and 77 to finish 6 over.
Bhatia was on the cut line with three holes to play on Friday, then provided plenty of drama, bogeying on 16 to put himself in danger. He holed out from a bunker on 17 to get back under the cut line before a double-bogey on 18 sent him home.
Andrew Novak
The 31-year-old Raleigh native made his first Masters start. He finished 75 and 76, missing the cut at seven over.
“I three-putted four times early today because I was not prepared at all the for how slow the greens were,” he told The State. “On the putting green, they were still rolling fast. I didn’t realize how much slower they are going to be this morning, and it took me a little too long to adjust to that.”
“I don’t think I’ve gotten worse at golf,” he said after the round. “I don’t know why the scores are worse, but right now nothing is really working.”
Max Greyserman
The 30-year-old Duke alum also missed the cut, shooting 79 and 77 to finish 12 over.