DUBLIN, Ohio - Just being at the Memorial Tournament was a reminder of how far Cameron Young has come in the past year. Being part of a six-way tie for the lead after the first round was the latest reminder of how well he is playing.
In his first start since challenging at the PGA Championship two weeks ago, Young finished with two birdies over his last three holes for a 5-under-par 67 on Thursday at Muirfield Village.
Even with slightly softer greens due to rain, the 67 was the highest score to lead after the first round of the Memorial since 2004. And it was the second straight week on the PGA Tour of a big logjam in first place; eight were tied after one round of the Charles Schwab Challenge.
At the top of the leaderboard with Young were Baylor School graduate Luke List, South Korea's K.H. Lee and Australia's Cameron Smith from the morning wave, as well as fellow rookie Davis Riley and Canada's MacKenzie Hughes from the afternoon.
In the group one shot behind were Wyndham Clark, Denny McCarthy, Sahith Theegala and Will Zalatoris, the PGA Championship runner-up after losing an aggregate playoff to Justin Thomas.
The 37-year-old List won the Farmers Insurance Open in late January for his first PGA Tour victory, but his best finish since then is a tie for 31st at last month's Wells Fargo Championship, and his only other cut made in his past five starts was at the PGA Championship, where he tied for 41st.
But he felt pretty good after Thursday's round, which included just one bogey - and that came on the par-3 16th during an otherwise excellent closing stretch of three birdies in five holes. He scattered birdies on the front nine on the first, fourth and eighth.
"The putters felt good in practice, nice to roll some in today. And that was an indicator if I'm going to play really well or not," List said. "To see some putts go in early was nice. And then continue that and the one on the last hole was really special."
Chattanooga native Keith Mitchell (70), another Baylor alum, was tied for 21st.
The greens were firm during practice and still rolled well, though players could take aim at flags because of enough rain and cloud cover. That took some adjusting. Muirfield Village was still tough enough that bogeys were easy to find.
Baylor graduate Harris English, who had a career year in 2021, made his first start since tying for 55th at the Sony Open in January, with hip surgery leading him to skip the Masters and the PGA Championship. He shot a 77 and was tied for 106th.
Bryson DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open champion in his first tournament since the Masters because of surgery on his left hand, had a 76 and was tied for 96th.
Hideki Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters winner, was disqualified when officials determined he had too much paint on the face of his 3-wood that he was using for alignment. It was the first time Matsuyama, 30, who won the Memorial in 2014 for his first PGA Tour victory, has been disqualified on golf's top circuit.
Chief referee Steve Rintoul said rules officials were made aware of 10 small lines forming a circle on the face of Matsuyama's 3-wood. The alignment aid was not at issue, rather the substance used to create the lines was thick enough that it could affect the flight of the ball.
Matsuyama left after nine holes - he was 3 over par - without comment.
A year ago, Young was coming off consecutive wins on the Korn Ferry Tour that moved him up some 300 spots in the Official World Golf Ranking to No. 170. Now he is at No. 30, with five top-three finishes in his rookie season, three times a runner-up.
The most recent was at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Young was tied for the lead heading to the 14th tee in the final round of the PGA Championship. His chances ended with a double bogey on the 16th.
And then he was right back at it at the Memorial, making a 15-foot eagle on the par-5 15th on his way to a 31 on his opening nine holes, overcoming a few bogeys on the front nine and capping another solid day with a 30-foot birdie putt.
"I think we knew what was possible, but I think I've also gotten a lot better throughout this season," Young said. "And having done well makes it a lot easier. If I was really fighting to keep my card for next year, I think it gets a lot harder. To have been around the lead and then finish high a few times, I think just that comfort level has gone up and I've been able to keep going."
Young recalls meeting Jack Nicklaus, the tournament host, at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2019 for the U.S. Open when he qualified for his first major as an amateur. It was special for at least one of them.
"I'm sure he wouldn't remember," Young said of the 18-time major champion. "He was walking at me, and I said, 'Hi, I'm Cameron.' And he was very nice. Said hello and kind of moved on. But I was nobody. I just got out of college. So that's really the only time I've been able to interact with him."
Nicklaus is always by the 18th green on Sunday to shake hands with the winner. That would be memorable.
Record-setting round
SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. - Ingrid Lindblad decided months ago that she wanted to stay in college instead of turning professional. That might be a financial decision she comes to regret.
The 22-year-old Swede shot the lowest round by an amateur in the 77-year history of the U.S. Women's Open, a 6-under 65 that left her a shot behind first-round leader Mina Harigae at Pine Needles.
Because she's an amateur, Lindblad wouldn't be able to collect the record $1.8 million first-place prize if she wins. She would have had to declare as a professional before the tournament began.
When asked if, in hindsight, that was a mistake, the LSU junior known to her friends as "Iggy" paused and said with a smile: "I'm going to stay in college for like another year or so. But when you say it, yeah it would have been fun to win a little bit of money."
Three amateurs had previously shot 66: Carol Semple Thompson in 1994, Brittany Lincicome in 2004 and Gina Kim in 2019.
Lindblad, who won the Southeastern Conference individual championship in April, tied for 30th at 6-over 292 in her only other U.S. Women's Open appearance in 2020. The only amateur to win the event was Catherine Lacoste in 1967.
Lindblad will have to contend with what is shaping up to be a strong leaderboard. Three-time major winner Anna Nordqvist, also from Sweden, and 2021 Evian Championship champion Minjee Lee of Australia were at 67 with Ryann O'Toole of the United States.
Chattanooga's Blakesly Brock, in the event for the first time as the reigning U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur champ, faces an uphill climb to stick around for the weekend after an 80 left the former Baylor School and University of Tennessee player tied for 147th in the 156-player field.