Portugal Colonial - Winning worth the wait for Young no matter the ball

After six seasons, Young won his first PGA Tour title last August in Greensboro, added The Players Championship in March and won again at Doral two weeks ago in wire-to-wire fashion after taking third at the Masters.

"Any time you have to wait for something, it makes it better," he said. "It would be harder if I had won a couple times early and then went a long time without winning.

"To have gotten through what was at times quite frustrating and come out on the other side of it a better golfer and have my name on a couple trophies to show for it definitely feels good."

The 29-year-old American also has drawn attention for having such success using a ball that conforms to R&A and US Golf Association distance rollback standards set to begin in 2028.

"This ball is easier to control with the irons, it doesn't spin as much, and it just allows me to be better with my distance control just because it's more consistent," Young said.

Young, a runner-up at the 2022 British Open who shared third at the 2022 PGA Championship, likes his form heading into the showdown at Aronimink.

"I've been pretty solid across the board," Young said. "I've done a really good job taking advantage of the opportunities I've had to finish high and fortunate to win a couple times."

Young has been more concerned with ball control and shotmaking than maximizing distance since he began using the new ball in his first triumph.

"I hit it during a ball test, one of the Titleist facilities, close to two years ago and didn't know anything about it," Young said.

"As things progressed, I was able to test it last year at Wyndham, able to put that in play, and it has been there since."

When it came to conforming, Young didn't realize the ball did until recently.

"At no point was that a consideration. It was just really me trying to optimize my golf, and it's the ball that seems to work the best for me," Young said.

"I don't think any of us are out really here playing the ball that goes the farthest. I think you'd struggle to find a single person that's doing that.

"We're all sacrificing a certain amount of things we feel are worth it -- control with irons, control with wedges.

"For me, that's the biggest thing is being able to control spin, and this is the ball that does the best for me."

Young hasn't looked into rules to limit distance in balls but feels it's a tough fight.

"The manufacturers are so good, they're going to find their way to make a good golf ball no matter what the restrictions are," Young said.

B.Godinho--PC