Wyndham Championship Round 2: Cameron Young Beats the Storms to a Three-Shot Lead

Lightning chased everyone off Sedgefield on Friday afternoon, but it could not knock Cameron Young out of rhythm. The best player on the PGA TOUR without a win came back Saturday morning, finished what he started and walked off with a three-shot lead at the Wyndham Championship.

Young completed a bogey-free 8-under 62 to reach 15-under 125 at the halfway point. Mac Meissner, Joel Dahmen and Sungjae Im are tied for second at 12 under. Defending champion Aaron Rai and Mark Hubbard sit four back at 11 under.

The Horn Blows

Storms rolled into Greensboro and the horn sounded at 4:32 p.m. ET on Friday, with a big chunk of the afternoon wave still on the course. Young was standing on the par-3 16th at the time, and his tee shot was already sitting 6 feet from the hole.

That is an awkward place to leave a round overnight. You have a birdie putt you have been thinking about since dinner and two of Sedgefield's trickier closing holes still in front of you. Young handled it like a veteran. When play resumed at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, the 6-footer went in. On 17 he drove it into the rough and still scrambled for par, then parred the last to sign for 62.

The round had real heat in it before the weather ever showed up. Young went out in 30, per the PGA TOUR, and two straight birdies late in the round pushed him past Rai, who was matching him shot for shot at that stage. Through 36 holes Young has gone 63, 62, and Friday's card did not have a single blemish.

Chasing a First

The résumé is what makes this interesting. Young has finished runner-up seven times on the PGA TOUR, including at a World Golf Championships event and at The Open at St. Andrews, and the AP described him as widely considered the best player without a win on a major tour.

He grew up around the game in New York, where his father was the longtime head pro at Sleepy Hollow, and he went on to earn an economics degree at Wake Forest. This week, though, the conversation is not really about FedExCup math for Young, who entered at No. 40 and is safely in the Playoffs. The target is bigger.

"In the middle of September I'd like to be in New York playing on that Ryder Cup team," Young said.

That line explains why a regular-season finale matters to someone who already has his Playoffs ticket. A win now would carry real weight with the people picking that team.

Rai's Saturday Stumble

Rai, who won this event a year ago for his first PGA TOUR title, was right in the fight on Friday evening; the AP reported the defending champion held a one-shot lead when the horn sounded. The return trip did not go as planned. Rai made double bogey at the 16th on Saturday morning and posted 66, which leaves him four behind.

Four shots is nothing on a course where 62s keep showing up, but it is a different kind of chase than the one Rai expected when play stopped.

The Pack at 12 Under

Meissner did his work in the morning wave on Friday, firing a 7-under 63 before the weather arrived. The math for Meissner is blunt. Entering the week at No. 152 in the standings, Meissner must win to get into the Playoffs, per the AP.

Im matched his opening 64 with another one and sits at 12 under as well. Im came in at No. 30, so this week is about protecting a TOUR Championship path, not sneaking into the top 70.

Dahmen, the first-round leader, cooled off to a 67 after his 61 on Thursday. It was a grind of a round by comparison, but staying three back keeps his push for a card and a Playoffs spot very much alive.

Woodland's Albatross

The shot of the day belonged to Gary Woodland. On the par-5 fifth, Woodland holed a 7-iron for an albatross 2, a score most players never make once in a career. Woodland shot 64 to get to 9 under and said afterward that the game has been in good shape for a while. A big weekend could carry him into the top 70.

Who Survived the Cut

The cut fell at 3-under 137, and it took some notable names with it. Max Homa and Keith Mitchell both missed, a brutal outcome in the last week to move the needle.

Others made it by the thinnest of margins. Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard both finished right on the number at 3 under. Nicolai is 71st in the standings, one spot outside the line, and Rasmus is 82nd. Adam Scott, at No. 85, made it with one shot to spare after a 71. Jordan Spieth, who sits at No. 50, followed his opening 65 with a 70 and is at 5 under.

The Weekend Ahead

The third round was scheduled to go out Saturday afternoon in threesomes off both tees, so the leaders barely had time to grab lunch before going back out. Young has the cushion, the clean card and the confidence of two rounds in the low 60s. The chasers have 36 holes to find out whether that three-shot lead holds up.

Catch up on Thursday in our Round 1 recap. Scoring is on the official PGA TOUR tournament page (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 2 story (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 2 story and leaderboard), AP, CBS Sports, Golf Channel, Sky Sports, The Golf News Net. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.