Cameron Young might be the hottest golfer on the PGA Tour with two victories and two other top-five finishes in his past five events.

And the World No. 3 is not interested in changing much during a hot streak, including whether it’s time to shave his beard.

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s coming off. I’m kind of afraid to see what I might look like without it,” said Young, who turns 29 on Thursday. “It’s been a couple years now and, yeah, I don’t know, we weren’t allowed to have a beard in college, so it was one of those things, as soon as I was allowed to, I just did it for no reason, other than that.

“Yeah, it’s been there since. Between that and not having to deal with it on a daily basis, it’s kind of lower maintenance and I’ve grown accustomed to the way I look with it.”

Young went to college at Wake Forest, located approximately 90 miles from Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte where he will tee it up in the Truist Championship, beginning Thursday.

“Always nice coming back to North Carolina and especially here,” Young said. “I mean, this is a top-notch golf course facility and tournament. I always look forward to coming back here. It’s quite a challenge, so I really look forward to the challenge of this golf course.”

Young tied for second at Quail Hollow in 2022 before tying for 59th the next year and tying for 34th in 2024. He bounced back to tie for seventh last year.

He figures to be a contender at Quail Hollow this week after winning last week’s Cadillac Championship by a mammoth six strokes. He posted a 19-under 269 at Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster Course outside Miami, with President Trump in attendance.

“Last week was a really good week,” Young said. “I feel like a lot of pieces came together pretty well. Yeah, difficult golf course, kind of an atypical week with the President around, just some different things that go on with that piece of it. But I feel like I did a really good job just staying where I was and doing my job. Yeah, very pleased with the outcome.”

Young’s strong year leaves him only behind No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland in the rankings. It also has increased his own notoriety but he said handling the rise in outer noise isn’t as challenging as maintaining his own mental game.

“Yeah, it really hasn’t been too different, in my opinion,” Young said. “I do a few more things like this (press conference), but most of the noise and the noise that’s probably more difficult to deal with is the noise in your own head.

“So to me that’s where a lot of my time is spent. … Those World Rankings are based in the past. It’s a good indicator of how you’ve played recently or whatever it is, but that No. 3 next to my name in the World Ranking doesn’t give me one thing this week. Doesn’t give me one thing next week.”

–Field Level Media

Ty France broke a seventh-inning tie with a two-run, pinch-hit triple, Xander Bogaerts added a two-run homer in the eighth, and the San Diego Padres captured a road series win over the San Francisco Giants with a 5-1 victory Wednesday afternoon.

After taking over from opener Bradgley Rodriguez, Matt Waldron (1-1) threw five one-run innings for his first win of the season, propelling San Diego to a second straight triumph after a series-opening defeat on Monday.

After offsetting solo homers by the Padres’ Gavin Sheets, his fifth of the season, and Giants’ Rafael Devers, his third, the Padres took advantage of an inning-opening throwing error by San Francisco third baseman Matt Chapman to grab the lead for good in the seventh.

Giants starter Adrian Houser (0-4) was pulled at that point, then watched as Keaton Winn walked Ramon Laureano.

Winn got two outs as the runners reached second and third, before France greeted Matt Gage with a flyball down the right-field line that barely eluded a diving Jesus Rodriguez, scoring Fernando Tatis Jr. and Laureano.

The triple was France’s second of the year. He’d totaled just four in his first seven major-league seasons.

Bogaerts’ homer, his second of the series and seventh of the season, came two batters after Ryan Walker walked Manny Machado to lead off the eighth.

After Rodriguez needed just seven pitches to set down the Giants in order in the first, Waldron allowed just Devers’ homer and one other hit in his five innings. He struck out seven and did not walk anyone.

Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller, making his first appearance of the series, combined for six strikeouts over the final three innings, allowing just one hit.

Nick Castellanos had two hits for the Padres, who out-hit the Giants 6-3.

Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles for San Francisco, which has lost eight of its last nine.

Houser was charged with two runs (one earned) on three hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out three.

-Field Level Media

The Cleveland Cavaliers may play Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Thursday night without one of their most important floor spacers.

Reserve guard Sam Merrill underwent an MRI exam on Wednesday after sustaining a left hamstring injury during Cleveland’s 111-101 loss to the host Detroit Pistons in Game 1, leaving his status uncertain as the Cavaliers attempt to avoid falling into an 0-2 series hole.

After years of postseason runs derailed by injuries, Cleveland largely had avoided health concerns this spring until Merrill exited Tuesday night’s opener after playing just six minutes, 41 seconds. The veteran sharpshooter, who drilled 42.1% of his 3-point attempts during the regular season, did not participate in Wednesday’s practice at Little Caesars Arena while the team awaited the results of his scans.

“I don’t want to give you anything definite,” said Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson. “We need to make threes to win this series. They pack the paint and we’ve got to make threes. He’s a big part of that. Hoping he’s back.”

Merrill emerged as a key part of Cleveland’s rotation during a breakout season, averaging a career-high 12.8 points and 26.5 minutes while drilling three 3-pointers per game. His shooting is especially crucial now for a Cavaliers offense searching for answers after committing 20 turnovers in Game 1 that led to 31 Detroit points.

“You can’t replace what Sam brings,” Jaylon Tyson said. “He’s a key piece of this team. Our best shooter. He has a lot of attention on him just because of how he shoots the ball.

“He’s a competitor and tough guy. Can’t replace it. But somebody got to step up for him. That’s what’s gotta happen.”

Without Merrill available for most of the opener, Atkinson expanded the roles of Tyson, Keon Ellis and Max Strus. The trio combined to shoot 5 of 11 from the 3-point arc and score 22 points in 56 minutes.

“We’ll probably have to lean on those guys if Sam isn’t back right away,” Atkinson said.

The Cavaliers also need more offensive aggression from Donovan Mitchell, who has scored fewer than 25 points in six straight games and attempted just two free throws in Game 1.

Following Tuesday’s loss, Mitchell suggested he may need to begin ‘flopping’ more to generate calls.

J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit’s coach and Cleveland’s former coach, was asked about Mitchell’s comments following Wednesday’s shootaround.

“I mean, Donovan’s very intelligent,” Bickerstaff said. “And it’s all messaging. We understand that. Our messaging is that flopping is a violation.”

Detroit, meanwhile, enters Game 2 looking to continue the physical style that helped it control much of the opener. The Pistons recorded 12 steals, grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and repeatedly transformed Cleveland turnovers into transition opportunities.

“It’s always physicality,” Bickerstaff said in explaining Detroit’s defense. “As long as we’re allowed to put our hands on you, as long as we’re allowed to bump you and be aggressive with our physicality, that gives us an advantage to put people in small spaces. And then you got to play through contact in small spaces and be great in those situations.”

Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 23 points and seven assists in Game 1 while Jalen Duren added 11 points and 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass.

If Merrill cannot play, Cleveland may have even less margin for error against a Detroit defense that crowded the paint, forced turnovers and dared the Cavaliers to win from outside in Game 1.

–Field Level Media