The 2026 Cadillac Championship final round at Trump National Doral was supposed to be a formality for Cameron Young. He had a six-shot lead, the best game in the field all week, and had everything to play for. However, he has stopped himself on the second fairway to penalize himself.

The two-time PGA winner noticed something small with his golf ball. Nobody else saw it, just him. Most players would look away from such a situation, but Young assessed himself a stroke penalty in the middle of the fairway for causing his ball to move. He then stood over a 14-foot putt to save that par and successfully holed it. After this, he remained 15 under and five shots ahead of Scottie Scheffler and Kristoffer Reitan after two holes Sunday at Doral.

Some reports are also saying that Young was not even 100% certain that he caused the ball to move. Under Rule 9.4b of the Rules of Golf, if a player is uncertain whether they caused their ball to move but reports it, they take a one-shot penalty.

Young had opened the week with a bogey-free 8-under 64 on the Blue Monster, the best round of the day. By the end of three rounds, he led the field in scrambling and ranked third in strokes gained: tee to green. He entered the final round at 15-under par, six shots clear of a group that included World No. 1, Scottie Scheffler.

With that said, Sunday’s moment is not an isolated moment. During the second round at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, Young moved his ball marker on the 16th green to get out of the line of his playing partners. And then forgot to move it back before putting it there. Officials handed him a two-stroke penalty for playing from the wrong place, which turned his par into a double bogey, and he ended up missing the cut.

Calling a penalty on themselves isn’t a new thing in golf, either. Golfers do it, as the game is all about honesty and sportsmanship.

• During the Valspar Championship, Mat Wallace penalized himself one stroke after his ball moved while addressing it in the rough. He stated it was about integrity and “doing the right thing” for the field, caddy, and team.
• Russell Henley called a one-stroke penalty on himself on the 8th hole on a Friday after his ball moved a dimple to the right when taking his club back.
• At the TOUR Championship 2024, Sahith Theegala called a two-stroke penalty on himself during the third round after his backswing moved sand in a greenside bunker. 

One time, honesty cost this PGA Tour pro his win

Brian Davis was caught in a very familiar situation in 2010 on his first playoff hole on the Verizon Heritage. He was one shot away from winning his first PGA Tour win in his 169th start. However, his approach led to a hazard. As he played his next shot, the club grazed against a loose reed on the backswing.

He immediately called a rules official. Nobody had seen him, not the official standing 30 feet away. And after that, he was handed a two-stroke penalty, which gave the tournament to Jim Furyk instead. His reasoning was pretty simple.

“When I did it, I didn’t even think about it, Davis said. And when you are on the PGA Tour, you’re on the main stage. We are self-governed out here.”

Fifteen years later, Cameron Young stood in the second fairway and called in a mistake, perhaps because he was self-governed on the PGA Tour as well.