In his Open Championship debut on Thursday, Young plotted his way around the course in a gentle breeze and finished with a long two-putt birdie for an eight-under 64 to lead the championship by two strokes from Northern Ireland’s, Rory McIlroy. Australia’s Cameron Smith is a further stroke back in outright third.

Young, whose father is the long-time pro at Sleepy Hollow Golf & Country Club in New York, first came to Scotland in 2010 when he was 13.

He played some of the fabled courses in the area – St. Andrews, Carnoustie, North Berwick – not knowing then whether he would even pursue a career in golf.

"Any time you set foot on the first tee or 18th green or anywhere, there's just no hiding how special of a place it is," Young said.

"And it's certainly been a goal to get to an Open Championship. And for my first one to be here is a little bit extra special for me."

Cameron Young two-putts the 18th for birdie to reach 8 under. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Young went out in 31. He drove over the green on the par-4 12th, pitched back to eight feet and holed it for birdie to reach seven under.

A record score was within reach but he three-putted for par on the 14th, his 10 feet birdie chance on the 15th spun out of the cup and he missed another good chance from 15 feet on the next hole.

Even so, the 25-year-old New Yorker had few complaints. He loves links golf.

"I don't think I've figured that much of it out, honestly," Young said. "You could play every day here for a year and you would just scratch the surface of what you can know about this place.

"There's so many humps and bounds and little nuances to the golf course that we could never know in the four or five days that I've had to prepare."

As for that trip? He still has great memories – none that top St. Andrews.

"My dad asked for permission to play from the back tees. I think that's something you have to do, if I remember correctly," he said.

"So, when we came out to hit our first tee shots with the R&A building right there, there were a bunch of R&A members presumably watching. And I'm glad I didn't know. I'm sure I would have been nervous out of my mind."

It's hard to detect a pulse from Young now. He has been around the game long enough to realise not to get too far ahead.

"I'm happy I shot 64. I'm happy that, as far as I know, I'm still leading the Open Championship, but it's not going to change how I feel an hour from now," he said.

– Doug Ferguson