CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Cameron Young made a par putt from just inside 10 feet for an 11-under 59 on Saturday in the Travelers Championship, the first sub-60 round on the PGA Tour in nearly four years.
Young made two eagles on par 4s, holing out with wedge from 142 yards on the third hole and driving the 280-yard 15th hole within 4 feet.
It was the 13th sub-60 round since Al Geiberger first shot golf's “magic number” at the 1977 Memphis Classic. Scottie Scheffler had been the most recent at the TPC Boston in 2020 at The Northern Trust.
“I can't say I was expecting it,” Young said. “I've been playing better than the results have shown. Waking up this morning, I wasn't really thinking I'm going to be 5 under through four. It was a lot of fun to do.”
This didn't even get Young the distinction of owning the course record at the TPC River Highlands. Jim Furyk shot a 58 in 2016 at the Travelers Championship, the lowest round in PGA Tour history.
Young still moved from a tie for 43rd to a tie for 10th, five shots out of the lead.
Jordan Spieth became a footnote in history as the only PGA Tour player to twice play with someone who shot 59. Spieth also was in the group with Justin Thomas when he shot 59 in the opening round of the 2017 Sony Open.
Young was able to lift, clean and place his golf ball in the short grass because of soggy course conditions and the potential of more rain.
He could have gone even lower. After his eagle on the 15th hole, Young hit his tee shot to 7 feet on the par-3 16th and missed the short birdie putt. On the closing hole, needing birdie to tie Furyk's record, his drive settled on the steep face of a fairway bunker and Young was unable to get it on the green.
He still made par for the seventh round of 59 or lower this year on tours around the world.
“To have a day like today where things start going in, and it feels like you're reward for good shots, it leaves me with a good taste in my mouth,” Young said.
He finished at 13-under par and was tied with Tom Kim, who was watching some of Young's round on a video screen at the practice range as Kim was getting ready for the start of his third round. Kim shot a 65 and led by one over Scottie Scheffler and Akshay Bhatia.
The other six rounds at 59 or lower this year include Joaquin Niemann on LIV Golf and a record-tying 57 by Cristobal del Solar on the Korn Ferry Tour in Bogota, Colombia.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Cameron Young hits on the 12th hole during the third round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Saturday, June 22, 2024, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Cameron Young lines up a putts on the 12th green during the third round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Saturday, June 22, 2024, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Cameron Young hits from the 13th tee during the third round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Saturday, June 22, 2024, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Cameron Young walks away from the 12th green during the third round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Saturday, June 22, 2024, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid could go back to school and write a pretty heady report on how he spent his summer vacation.
Embiid won Olympic gold for Team USA. He signed a contract extension with the Philadelphia 76ers that will pay him more than $64 million in its final season. Embiid spoke during the U.N. General Assembly week about African innovation. Already parents to a young son, Embiid and his wife are expecting a daughter.
Oh, and his lobbying efforts for the Sixers to sign All-Star free agent Paul George paid off with perhaps the most significant acquisition in Embiid’s 10 seasons with the franchise.
Not a bad offseason.
For his final move before training camp opens next week, Embiid celebrated one major watershed more personal in nature.
The seven-time All-Star hosted the “In Memory of Arthur” block party to honor the life of his late brother in a Friday night event for Philadelphia Youth Basketball.
Embiid’s younger brother, Arthur Embiid, died in a car accident in 2014 at age 13. Embiid, born in Yaoundé, Cameroon, later named his son Arthur in his brother’s memory. At the Sixth Man Center, the 76ers and PYB unveiled a 70-by-10 foot mural that overlooked the “In Memory of Arthur” Court, which was dedicated to Embiid and his family when the complex opened earlier this year.
“It’s still tough, thinking about the whole thing,” Embiid said of his brother. “He’s also one of the reasons why I’m doing this. He was someone that cared about everybody. It’s funny, all the stories that I heard, because I hadn’t been around since I left Cameroon. Going back after his death, all the stories that I heard. Just someone I cared about, that was always giving back.”
Embiid and his son shot hoops at bounce houses and on the court at a Friday night event attended by George, All-Star Tyrese Maxey, other Sixers teammates and team president Daryl Morey.
“He’s somebody who took me in from Day 1,” Maxey said. “Joel, he was the first person who believed in me. He believes in all of y’all. He believes in all of Philly. We just really have to appreciate him. We just have to really cherish him.”
Maxey then asked nearly 200 kids — most of them in Embiid gear — to stand and give the 7-footer a standing ovation.
Embiid, who signed a $193 million extension with a player option for the 2028-29 season, appreciated the gesture.
“Growing up, having been around a struggle, that’s always been a goal of mine, to have some sort of impact,” Embiid said.
Embiid has donated millions over his career to Philly community efforts. Among his charitable endeavors, he has donated All-Star Game winnings to area homeless shelters, partnered with a grocery chain to help families with rent or mortgage relief and pledged with Sixers ownership in 2020 a combined $1.3 million to Penn Medicine for COVID-19 antibody testing of frontline health care workers.
Embiid put his family name on the party that treated area kids to a variety of basketball and soccer clinics, block-party games, food and entertainment. Local nonprofit Philadelphia Youth Basketball opened its $36 million dollar Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center this summer, with a $5 million assist from the longtime prominent season ticket holder.
Hopped up on soft pretzels, kids screamed for George and Maxey as they took the court.
Embiid might have been George’s biggest backer. The Sixers enticed George to leave the Los Angeles Clippers and sign a four-year, $212 million contract. George joins a Philly team that has been a perennial underachiever, even as Embiid blossomed into one of the top players in the NBA. Philadelphia has not won an NBA title since 1983 or even advanced out of the second round of the playoffs since 2001.
“PG, great. I spent a lot of time recruiting Paul and I’m happy that he’s here,” Embiid said.
Embiid played a key role in helping the U.S. team win gold in the Paris Olympics. He later spoke during U.N. General Assembly week at Prince William’s Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit in New York.
“It was all about Africa,” Embiid said. “I’m one of the guys that has been successful and that is hope. There’s a lot of us. I feel like using that opportunity to go makes sense. We don’t have a lot of opportunities. There’s a lot of me.”
Even without a championship, there’s a lot of Philly that likes Embiid.
“There’s no way, starting at 16, that I was supposed to be here,” Embiid said. “As long as you put the work in, and I guess, trust the process, it’s going to end up paying off.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
FILE - Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid waves to Chicago Bulls fans after hitting a 3-point shot late in the second half of the team's NBA basketball game against the Bulls of Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
FILE - Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid plays during Game 6 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
FILE - Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid goes up for the dunk during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)
