Despite being winless this season, each has shown moments of greatness. Theegala, the winner of the Haskins and Nicklaus Awards in 2020, has experienced multiple near misses. At the Sanderson Farms Championship, he was in first place after 54 holes but finished eighth.
Through 16 holes on Sunday, he was tied for the lead of the WM Phoenix Open, but the Californian's tee shot on hole 17 ended up in the water, causing him to finish T-3 and miss a playoff by one shot. The 24-year-old had the lead on the 72nd hole of the Travelers Championship, but he missed his bunker shot and finished T-2.
But Young is said to be in the lead right now. The New Yorker is 25 spots ahead of Theegala in the FedExCup standings, with six top-5 finishes to Theegala's three. However, the competitions that Young, 25, has nearly won make his first campaign all the more noteworthy.
Top-3 finishes at tournaments like the Sanderson Farms, RBC Heritage, and Wells Fargo Championship are certainly nothing to laugh at. Still, runner-up finishes have distinguished Young's year at the Genesis Invitational, the PGA Championship, and The Open.
Following his round on Friday, Adam Scott commented, "(Young) is having one of the best rookie seasons I can think of." Although he hasn't yet won a tournament, he is undoubtedly a great young player and exudes confidence.
Theegala added, "(Winning rookie of the year) is not a goal I had or even now that I'm near that I feel like I need to get or anything. There are only those two men: Davis Riley and Mito Pereira. Cam Young, in my perspective, is currently the front-runner and is more deserving of the position. I believe Cam is 9 or 10 under today, but if I have an intense couple of weeks both here and in the playoffs, then maybe that will change. Yes, he has a lot of talent, and in my opinion, he deserves it.
Young declared that winning Rookie of the Year would be "extremely special." "I am aware that it is named after Arnold Palmer, who attended Wake Forest and played a significant role in developing both the PGA Tour and the game of golf. The honor would be tremendous. Since I know that my (college) teammate Will [Zalatoris] won last year, I would love to do the same.
"Sahith is undoubtedly just being modest. In reality, I believe he has an equal chance as I do, and I believe the outcome will mostly depend on who performs best throughout the postseason. He's had numerous chances to succeed, after all. I believe he has more leads right now than I do. I've been chasing more than ever. I suppose we've had somewhat similar years, but we'll have to wait and see what transpires over the next days and weeks."
If one of the two young guns can win the championship this week in Detroit, that might determine who wins another trophy later in the year.
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