MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) — Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup have similar backgrounds and playing styles. They often play together when they are home in Florida.
The connection between the two helped keep the United States within striking distance of the International team in the Presidents Cup on Saturday.
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USA teams' Cameron Young reacts to his missed shot on the 12th green against the International team during a Presidents Cup golf tournament third round four-ball match at Medinah Country Club, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
USA teams' Cameron Young, right, celebrates with Chris Gotterup after defeating the International team in their Presidents Cup golf tournament third round four-ball match at Medinah Country Club, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
USA teams' Wyndham Clark, right, celebrates with Chris Gotterup on the 17th green after Gotterup and Cameron Young won their Presidents Cup golf tournament third round four-ball match against the International team at Medinah Country Club, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
USA teams' Chris Gotterup, right, celebrates with Cameron Young against the International team during a Presidents Cup golf tournament third round foursome match at Medinah Country Club, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
USA teams' Chris Gotterup, right, celebrates with Cameron Young after defeating the International team after their Presidents Cup golf tournament third round foursome match at Medinah Country Club, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
“I think both of us, when in doubt, tee it up, hit it hard, go find it,” Young said.
That strategy worked quite well as Young and Gotterup combined for two big points for the Americans after a disastrous Friday session against the Internationals. They beat Nick Taylor and Corey Conners 2 and 1 in fourballs and then routed Sungjae Im and Adam Scott 6 and 4 in foursomes in the afternoon at an increasingly difficult Medinah.
Playing with different partners, Gotterup dropped his first match on Thursday and Young lost on each of the first two days. But together they helped the U.S. trim its deficit to three points going into Sunday's singles matches.
“We’re different, but we play similar styles of golf in the fact that if he hits it in the rough, I’ve been in, like, a similar position where we’re not going to be in the fairway all the time just with how far we hit it,” Gotterup said. “It’s not uncomfortable in the spots we put each other in.
“We just have a connection through being from the Northeast and just playing golf, and then being from the same area, I think it helps.”
Young, 29, was born in Scarborough, New York, and Gotterup, 27, grew up in New Jersey. They both played college golf, Young at Wake Forest and Gotterup at Rutgers and Oklahoma. They also hit the ball a long way.
They both drove the 354-yard, par-4 No. 4 in their fourballs match on Saturday, and Young made a 39-foot eagle putt to give the Americans a 4-up lead.
“That’s just such a strong pairing,” U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker said. “The way those guys hit it, the way those guys played, they vibed today. They were having fun. Cam was making putts. Chris was hitting it a mile. It was fun to watch. Those guys have a long career in front of them in these things, and I’m glad we found that pairing.”
Young has two wins this year and is ranked No. 3 in the world. Gotterup has three victories and is ranked No. 7.
The duo got off to a fast start in each of their matches. They were 5 up through seven holes while downing Im and Scott in the shortest match of the week.
“We played a fourball match the other day at home, and he beat all of us on his own ball,” Young said of Gotterup. “Anytime you’ve got someone with that gear to go like that, it’s exciting. I’ve seen him do a lot of crazy stuff with the golf ball. It’s fun to watch, and he’s very, very talented.”
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USA teams' Cameron Young reacts to his missed shot on the 12th green against the International team during a Presidents Cup golf tournament third round four-ball match at Medinah Country Club, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
USA teams' Cameron Young, right, celebrates with Chris Gotterup after defeating the International team in their Presidents Cup golf tournament third round four-ball match at Medinah Country Club, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
USA teams' Wyndham Clark, right, celebrates with Chris Gotterup on the 17th green after Gotterup and Cameron Young won their Presidents Cup golf tournament third round four-ball match against the International team at Medinah Country Club, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
USA teams' Chris Gotterup, right, celebrates with Cameron Young against the International team during a Presidents Cup golf tournament third round foursome match at Medinah Country Club, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
USA teams' Chris Gotterup, right, celebrates with Cameron Young after defeating the International team after their Presidents Cup golf tournament third round foursome match at Medinah Country Club, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Hurricane Nolo just skirted the Hawaiian Islands as it gained intensity on Saturday, but officials said it still posed a risk for flash floods, dangerous winds and extreme surf in areas recovering from previous storms.
Nolo was churning very slowly south of the Big Island with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph). Its center was about 160 miles (260 kilometers) south-southwest of Hawaii's southernmost point, and it was forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane through the weekend while traveling westward to the south of the islands.
A hurricane watch was canceled, and direct landfall by the storm's center was not expected. But forecasters said its outer bands could cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides, with parts of the Big Island expected to see rainfall totals up to 20 inches (51 centimeters). Heavy rain also was expected on the other islands.
“Don’t venture out if you don’t have to into the dangerous flooding environment, but also high winds. We can have trees and power lines down,” said Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center.
The humanitarian nonprofit group CORE and other partners spent the week packing and shipping supplies like camp stoves and hygiene products by air cargo from Oahu to the Big Island for a community relief hub that has been active since August's Hurricane Lala.
Residents are still recovering from Lala, which produced heavy rain and winds strong enough to sweep about 100 homes off their foundations on the Big Island.
About a dozen people were in the water Saturday morning at Carlsmith Beach Park in Hilo on the Big Island, despite signs saying the strand was closed. Andrea Gill was out for her regular swim before heading back home to hunker down with family.
“I hope it stops just sitting there and moves and goes somewhere else,” Gill said of the slow-moving storm.
Shop owners boarded up businesses, and events were canceled. Gill said storms are common, but hurricanes are rare. She was holding out hope that the islands might not get the full impact.
“We're used to lots of rain. We're not used to wind. So it's always a blessing when we don't get the wind from the hurricane,” she said.
President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for the state Friday, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate assistance and provide funding support.
Hawaii officials told residents to put together emergency kits, and the governor issued an emergency proclamation, activating hundreds of Hawaii National Guard members.
Hawaii County authorities on the Big Island urged people in flood-prone areas to consider taking refuge at shelters or elsewhere.
Hawaiian Electric, the state’s primary utility, said crews helping restore power in Kauai after this month’s Hurricane Lowell returned to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island in preparation for the storm.
The Pacific has been unusually active this season, according to National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec, with storm activity running above average during what is already the peak of hurricane season. He said that pattern is consistent with El Niño years, when the Pacific often sees more tropical storms and hurricanes.
Meanwhile Mexico was under the threat of Hurricane Polo as it headed toward the Baja California Peninsula after bringing storm conditions to the southwestern coast. Polo had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph), making it a Category 4 storm, but it was expected to weaken somewhat before making landfall Monday.
One of the towns in the hurricanes projected path is San Juanico, a small fishing community on Baja’s Pacific coast where access to basic needs is already fickle.
“Our people are concerned about this event,” said Gloriely Robles Meza, a manager at a small hotel. “We haven’t faced such a worrying situation in many years.”
The town has only had full-time electricity for a couple of years, and it still experiences frequent outages. Without power, residents can’t refrigerate food or pump water. The closest gas station is so far away that fuel is stored in and sold from tanks, and supply frequently runs out if there is high demand.
Robles Meza said the community feels left to brace itself for the storm without the help of authorities.
“We must prepare on our own — each of us protecting our homes and belongings,” she said, adding that she wished officials would preposition heavy machinery for clearing roads, along with emergency generators.
For now, she said, the only plan is to convert the local elementary school into a shelter.
“While this is important, we also have other impacts to consider,” Robles Meza said, like what the town will do if it is cut off from help.
San Juanico has experienced late-summer storms, but Polo feels different, said Jeffrey Westman, an American who was first drawn to the town’s world-class surf break 40 years ago and owns a property there.
“During the last couple of years, the storms have felt big and strong and scary,” said Westman, 63, who was in Europe at the moment but worried for the locals, particularly about their ability to receive food deliveries or reach larger grocery stores if road access is cut off.
Washed-out roads could also block access to the closest medical facility, about 80 minutes away in Ciudad Constitucion.
Westman said hopes Polo behaves as some past storms have, losing intensity before reaching the peninsula.
“A lot of times they do start petering out,” he said. “I’m hoping that’s the case.”
Associated Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Gabriela Aoun Angueira in San Diego; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.
Ryanna Fry takes a picture of clouds as Hurricane Nolo sits nearby in Kona, Hawaii, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A man crosses the road as Hurricane Nolo sits nearby Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Hilo, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A man walks among rocks while fishing as Hurricane Nolo sits nearby Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Hilo, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A lifeguard walks back to his tower after adjusting a beach closure sign as Hurricane Nolo sits nearby Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Hilo, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Kawika Ige fishes as Hurricane Nolo sits nearby Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Hilo, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A man walks past a closed ticket counter for Southwest Airlines lined with sandbags at Hilo International Airport as Hurricane Nolo sits nearby Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Hilo, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Chase Gabin fishes among the rocks as Hurricane Nolo sits nearby Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Hilo, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Louie Taasan places sand bags along his driveway as Hurricane Nolo sits nearby Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Hilo, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Kenzielynn Kekoa, center, of Hilo, Hawaii, helps her family fill sand bags as Hurricane Nolo approaches in Hilo, Hawaii, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
