Cameron Young clinched his second PGA Tour title and the biggest win of his career with a sensational one-shot victory at The Players Championship on Sunday after a drama-laden afternoon at TPC Sawgrass.
One stroke behind England’s Matt Fitzpatrick with two holes to play, Young drew level with a birdie at the par-3 17th after hitting a brilliant tee shot to 2.9m and then coolly parred the last to card a 4-under-par 68.
That left the New York native at 13-under 275 in the PGA Tour’s flagship event and one ahead of Fitzpatrick, who also closed with a 68 after his tee shot at the 18th wound up on pine straw in the tree line to the right of the fairway and led to a bogey 5.
Former US Open champion Fitzpatrick had a chance to force a three-hole play-off after lining up a par putt from 2.6m on the 18th green, but his attempt slid past the right edge of the cup, and he had to settle for second place.
Two-time Major champion Xander Schauffele closed with a 69 to claim third place at 11 under, a stroke in front of world No 8 Robert MacIntyre of Scotland, who also signed off with a 69.
“I feel like we just kept ourselves in a really good spot all day today [Sunday], really all week,” Young said after the relief of knocking in his short par putt on the 18th green. “The nerves kicked in over the 8-inch putt on the last. That hole looked really small there from pretty close range. So happy to have finished it off, and just really excited to have played the way I did.”
Young, whose first PGA Tour victory came at the 2025 Wyndham Championship, was delighted to emerge triumphant in a tournament that attracts one of the deepest fields in golf and is unofficially called the fifth major.
“To have now put my name on two different tournaments, and a big one like The Players, I mean, it’s incredibly special, and I’m hoping I can continue that throughout the season,” the 28-year-old smiled.
Fitzpatrick, in pursuit of a third PGA Tour win, made a fast start to the final round with three birdies in the first four holes, and he led Young by a shot after sinking a 13-foot birdie putt at the par-4 15th.
“I just felt like I did a tonne of really good stuff,” Fitzpatrick said after a round that included six birdies and two bogeys. “It’s obviously frustrating not to come away with a little better.”
The 31-year-old Englishman felt he had hit a good tee shot on 18, given that the wind was coming in off the right.
“I know Cam hits a draw,” Fitzpatrick said. “His moved a bit, as well. Figured mine would do the same, but mine has just gone dead straight there and just run through. Like I say, I felt like I hit a good drive, and once you’re out of position, it’s difficult to make your par.”
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who had led the tournament by three shots overnight, was two ahead with eight holes to play on Sunday before his title bid dramatically unravelled with a bogey at the par-5 11th and a double bogey at the par-4 12th. He had to settle for a share of fifth place at 9 under after returning a 76.
“Obviously I’m really disappointed,” said Aberg, who was seeking his third PGA Tour victory. “I felt like I was striking it OK early on. But overall pleased with the week. Today the back nine was not good, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Aberg, the tournament leader after the second and third rounds, offset a birdie at the par-5 second with a bogey at the par-4 fourth to reach the turn two shots ahead of Fitzpatrick and MacIntyre.
However, his title bid was severely shaken when he bogeyed the 11th after his second shot sailed right into a water hazard.
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