US PGA: Steven Young swaps summer camp for US PGA

Young is assistant pro at Midlands County Club

Ex-pat Scot Steven Young will tee off at the US PGA Championship on Thursday a week after running a golf clinic for children at his club in Texas.

PGA professional Young, 38, qualified via the PGA National Championship and plans to enjoy himself in Wisconsin.

He told BBC Sport: "I've got nothing to lose. I'm just going to play golf - bogeys or birdies, whatever, I don't care. This is just fun.

"Just last week, I was giving a summer camp for my members' kids."

Young is the assistant professional at Midland County Club and his success in the qualifying competition means he is able to take a break from his regular club duties.

He grew up in Inverallochy, near Fraserburgh, and won three Scottish boys' titles in a row.

In 1995, he moved to the United States on a scholarship at Midland College, made a Walker Cup appearance in 1997 alongside Justin Rose and played in the Open twice.

His competitive career in the States failed to take off, but as he prepares to tee off in his first US PGA Championship beside India's Anirban Lahiri and the American Morgan Hoffmann, there is no sense of disappointment at the route he has taken.

"My career took a detour," said Young. "I had it on the straight and narrow up until '97-98. I hit every little goal I had.

Steven Young tees off alongside Morgan Hoffman in the US PGA Championship

"Then I made some swing changes and did some stuff that probably wasn't the best, so I went a different path and it's kind of fun that I got a detour back to mix it up with these boys.

"For me, this is incredible because it was 1998 the last time I played in a major, so it's been quite a long stretch in between tournaments.

"I've got the kids with me, my good friend on the bag and my parents flew over from Scotland, so it's awesome."

His preparation for Whistling Straits has been unorthodox, but success at the tournament is not his main target.

"I had 16 hours of running round with the kids playing games with them, so I couldn't practice," he said of his summer camp preparation.

"Getting here and being inside the ropes is fun.

"These guys are so impressive and for me to even compete I'm going to have to click on all cylinders: I know that, everyone knows that.

"But you never know if the putts start to go in, or I get a good feel for the driver or something.

"I might shoot an 80, but I really don't care.

"This is the crown jewel for a PGA pro. This is your event just to have fun: enjoy it as much as you can, soak it in, play a couple of practice rounds with some well-known names.

"For me, it's all about my wife and kids. They're here having fun, that's what it's all about."

Young is one of seven Scots playing in Wisconsin.

Stephen Gallacher, Marc Warren, Richie Ramsay, US-based pair Russell Knox, Martin Laird, plus Senior PGA champion Colin Montgomerie, are his better-known compatriots.