GREENSBORO, N.C. — Cameron Young made two straight birdies to move ahead of defending champion Aaron Rye before he packed a tee shot into 6 feet in par 3 16th place when the stormy clouds gathered to stop play on Friday at the Wyndham Championship.
The second round will resume at 7:30am on Saturday, with the third round taking place in three rounds starting with both nines at Sedgefield Country Club.
Young is one of the best players who have not won the Major Tour and competed twice in the final time of the Major Championship. He is seven runner-ups on the PGA Tour, including the British Open at St Andrews.
Young was 14 under par. Rye, who won his first PGA Tour title at the Wyndham Championship a year ago, was 13 under and just missed the green on No. 14.
Mac Meissner has a 7 under 63, and Sungjae im shot a 64, posted at 12 under 128 in the morning. Mark Hubbard shot a 66 and another shot. Hubbard needs at least a three-way tie second to advance into the postseason.
The Wyndham Championship is the final regular season tournament, with the top 70 making it into a lucrative postseason.
The 36-hole cut went 4 under if the score deteriorated when the round resumed Saturday. That meant that several seasons were over for players like Adam Hadwin and Zach Johnson.
Max Homa desperately needed a birdie at 1 under on five holes to play, then spent a big weekend to avoid missing the playoffs.
Adam Scott, No. 85 of the FedEx Cup, played the 15th hole at 4 under.
Young has no such concerns at the 40th FedEx Cup. He plays Greensboro – he earned a degree in economics from Wake Forest – which has built an ambitious goal before him. This starts with reaching the Tour Championship and scoring as many points as possible for consideration of the Ryder Cup.
Young grew up in New York – his father was a longtime head pro at Sleepy Hollow – and he swirled this rider cup since the American PGA announced he was going to Beth Page Black on Long Island.
Even in this week’s victory, Young was only 15th in the rankings. The top six will automatically qualify within three weeks after the BMW Championship.
“For me, this week isn’t necessarily the case. I have a goal. I’d like to play for that Ryder Cup team in New York in mid-September,” Young said. “If we can achieve that, we can achieve a lot in the next four weeks, so we try to keep that in mind, not just small things along the way.
“It wasn’t a bit of a win at the tournament here, but I think it’s like looking out into the distance like that.
Meissner is No. 152 and needs to win to move forward. He also finished in the top 100 at the end of the fall event to keep his card.
Gary Woodland delivered the shots of the day. It was a 7-iron with a par 5 fifth hole, heading for the rare Albatross 2.
“I’ve been playing well for a while, and my coach, Randy Smith, has been bothering me to stay patient. “When you’re not getting the results you want, the hardest thing is probably a bit fun.”
“I’m in a much better place than I was a year ago, so I’m trying to have a bit of fun. It was good to see some of the things I’ve been going today.”