Nope, that’s not your broadcast feed stuttering every time Team USA’s Cameron Young is up. That backswing pause is very much real.
The world No. 20 boasts one of the game’s most powerful swings, his 313-yard average driving distance ranked 21st on the PGA Tour this season, but executes it in a peculiar fashion. As his swing reaches the top of its arc, Young freezes before scything down towards the ball.
Having not shown the same technique as a junior golfer, the 28-year-old’s trademark pause began after he found himself struggling with his upper body moving too quickly ahead of his lower body, his father and swing coach David Young told Golf Digest in 2023.
“He wants to get the lower body working toward the target while he pins his arms, club and upper body back, which makes it look like he’s standing still,” Young said, explaining that the pause helps remove subsequent sideways movement of the club.
“There’s no conscious effort to pause.”
Intentional or not, it has worked a charm. The Scarborough-native is making a dream home debut at the Ryder Cup this week on the back of a stellar season that saw him clinch his first PGA Tour victory at the Wyndham Championship last month.
Having finished top-10 on six of his 18 major appearances, Young may be a Team USA rookie but is no stranger to pressure and showed it on Day 1, notching four birdies to emerge victorious in his only matchup.
