2026 PGA Championship Round 2 takeaways: Cameron Young faces latest major chance as Chris Gotterup surges

Young finds himself in a position he has become all too familiar with in major championship competition

Patrick McDonald

May 15, 2026

9:25 pm ET

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11 min read

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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. -- Golfers work countless hours just to create the opportunity so that two hours matter. Two hours when everything is up for grabs and everyone's eyes are on them. Those hours occur just four times a year at the four major championships, but they cannot be reached without those that came before them.

Those that are filled with early morning and late evenings, sacrifices, sweat and points of inflection. That is what makes major championship golf so special. The entire tournament matters, but eyes are so transfixed on those final two hours. Making a journey to that point is hard enough, but it has been easy work for Cameron Young in his, coincidentally, young career.

Young stands at 2 under after two rounds at the 2026 PGA Championship, two strokes behind Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy with only six names between his and those at the top.

Since the start of 2022, only two players have been inside the top 10 after 36 holes in major championships more than The Players Championship winner: Scottie Scheffler (four major wins) and Rory McIlroy (two).

Young, himself, is still at zero.

Most top 10s at majors after 36 holes from 2022-26

PlayerTop 10sScottie Scheffler

Rory McIlroy

Cameron Young

Young has already faced his fair share of two-hour trials, so to speak, including at this year's Masters, where he was in the final pairing on Sunday with McIlroy. But never has he come with the expectations he does at this PGA Championship, and although it was a Friday round and not a final round, Young met the moment in a way to ensure he remains with a chance at mattering on Sunday.

An early blemish was put onto his scorecard from the middle of the fairway on the short par-4 13th amid a morning where the feel-like temperature was 40 degrees, and the wind was whipping in a manner that was not forecasted.

Flighting his wedge in hopes of accessing a back pin location, Young's ball penetrated through the wind long of the green, leading to a bogey. His tee shot on the next hole found the greenside bunker, and suddenly the American was scrambling.

He successfully got up and down from the sand, and it was sand he found on the next forcing another saving move. This time, he rolled in a 14-foot par putt after throwing a wedge to that distance. Young kept his house in order and tidied things around the place when he connected from 21 feet just off the green after an average pitch.

Somehow, he was at even par during this stretch despite not playing his best golf on a course that demanded it. Another 8-foot par putt came on the par-3 17th when he turned in disgust once the ball left his blade off the tee. Destined for the water, his ball instead found the putting surface before it found the bottom of the cup in three strokes.

It's a five-hole stretch that will be forgotten, but it was one that gave Young an opportunity for more meaningful hours like the two that ended his day. He connected from just inside 30 feet on the par-3 5th to get into red figures and bolstered his Sunday chances with a big birdie on the last to shoot 3 under -- a score which has only been topped by two players this week.

Young is not yet at the point in the championship that golfers strive to reach, but he is inching closer once again. He is near the lead and approaching that time on Sunday when eyes fall on the contenders with nine holes to go, and although it is those that ultimately define a victor, Young's performance on Friday was equally important in the long journey of one day possibly becoming a major champion.

A day that could come as soon as Sunday.

Traffic jam at the top

If you made the cut at the 108th PGA Championship, the good news is that not only will you have two more rounds and collect a paycheck, but you also sort of have a chance to win this tournament. Only eight strokes separate those who made the cut at 4 over and Smalley and McNealy, who stand atop the leaderboard after 36 holes of play.

Throw out all those statistics about needing to be within X strokes heading into the weekend of a major championship, because this rarity cannot rule anyone out.

Just one day removed from a "shit" round, McIlroy made his move with a second-round 67 to get within five strokes of the pace. Jordan Spieth may have struggled on the greens, but he pieced together a round that saw him give only two strokes back to par and remain within shouting distance at that same number alongside Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele.

Former world No. 1s like Jason Day and Jon Rahm are a couple of strokes closer with a murderer's row that includes Scheffler, Ludvig Åberg, Justin Thomas, Harris English and Si Woo