MIAMI, Fla. — Under the South Florida sun at the iconic Blue Monster, Cameron Young delivered a masterclass in precision and putting on Thursday, carding a bogey-free 8-under-par 64 to seize the first-round lead at the 2026 Cadillac Championship.
Young, known for his powerful ball-striking, leaned heavily on a dialed-in putter that seemed to have a mind of its own.
“I always feel like it’s possible. If you had asked me to guess, I probably wouldn’t have guessed 64,” said Young of his low score.
“But that’s not really what I was concerned about, to be honest. It’s a long three weeks, and I’m going to have some good days and some bad ones. So, it was just more about getting out here today and trying to go through what we do and see what I get. Because that’s how I have to approach some of these longer stretches.”
The 2026 edition marks the return of this signature event to Trump National Doral, and the course showed its teeth while yielding plenty of birdies for those who navigated the water hazards and tricky greens effectively.
Young’s round featured a steady stream of birdies with minimal mistakes, setting an early benchmark in a stacked field.
“I feel like I made a billion feet of putts,” said Young, who had eight birdies against no bogeys. “Every time my ball got near the hole it seemed to want to go in today.”
Right on his heels sits three-time major champion Jordan Spieth, who posted a 7-under 65. Spieth mixed highlight-reel shots with his trademark creativity, keeping the leaderboard tight after just one day.
“It [the wind] was kind of moving around. It started kind of west when we started, and now, it’s southeast. So had to try to pay attention to what it was doing and commit to what it was doing,” said Spieth. “Because although the greens are big, the areas that the pins are at are super small.
“So, if you had a good number, it was attack, and if you didn’t, it was play it to 20 feet and go from there. I knocked a couple putts in from the fringe, which is a bonus, and the rest of the round I just played really the right way. So kept the ball in front of me, which will be key the next three days.”
The duo of Young and Spieth headline a group that includes Alex Smalley also at 65, signaling that the tournament is wide open but already has star power at the top.
The Blue Monster, with its history of drama and demanding layout, lived up to its reputation. While some big names navigated solid but unspectacular rounds (Scott Scheffler -1), the low scores from Young and Spieth set an aggressive tone heading into Friday.
With a loaded leaderboard and signature-event stakes on the line—including significant FedEx Cup points and a big purse — expect the leaders to face stiff competition as the weekend approaches.
Leaderboard: Top 10
1. Cam Young -8 (64)
2. Jordan Spieth -7 (65)
2. Alex Smalley -7 (65)
4. Nick Taylor -6 (66)
5. Nico Echavarria -5 (67)
6. Andrew Putnam -4 (68)
6. Brian Harman -4 (68)
6. Gary Woodland -4 (68)
9. Bud Cauley -3 (69)
9. Tom Hoge -3 (69)
9. Sahith Theegala -3 (69)
9. Matt McCarty -3 (69)
9. Aldrich Potgieter -3 (69)
9. Rickie Fowler -3 (69)
