Cameron Young Snatches Wild Players Championship Win
Cameron Young came from behind to steal the Players Championship, often regarded as golf's fifth unofficial major, on Sunday. He needed a birdie on the 17th hole just to force a winner-take-all 18th hole, where he emerged victorious over Matt Fitzpatrick for his second career win on the PGA Tour. He first won in 2025 at the Wyndham Championship.
Cameron Young wins thrilling Players Championship
It took him a long time, but after seven runner-up finishes, Cameron Young finally won in August 2025. Now, he's doubled his win total and achieved his most impressive outing to date. While the Players Championship is just a Signature Event on the PGA Tour, it's often considered more.
Before Signature Events were so common on tour, this was the non-Major tournament. Winning this was pretty much better than any other tournament except the Masters, PGA Championship, Open Championship, and US Open. It still carries plenty of prestige.
Young and Matt Fitzpatrick were playing partners in the final round, so it's as if the golf gods knew something. He tied Fitzpatrick with a birdie on the 17th to leave it up to the final hole. When Fitzpatrick drove into the trees, it opened the door for Young to take it.
"I feel like we just kept ourselves in a really good spot all day today, really all week," Young said. "The nerves kicked in over the 8-inch putt on the last. That hole looked really, 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."
Had he won, Fitzpatrick would've been the first Englishman to take home a Players Championship trophy. He needed to par to match Young's par on the 18th hole and get back his lead and win, but he fell short. His eight-foot par putt would've at least sent it to a playoff, but he missed.
"I picked up the tee quickly," Fitzpatrick said. "I felt like I hit a good shot, maybe pushed it slightly. [We] felt that the wind was a little bit off the right. Obviously, I know Cam hits a draw. His moved a little bit, as well. Figured mine would do the same. Obviously, just [went] dead straight."
Momentum was real in this one. Just after tying Fitzpatrick and setting up the climactic 18th, Young smashed a 375-yard drive on the fairway. He needed just 98 yards to hole it from there. It was the longest drive anyone's had on the 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass since tracking began in 2004.
Ludvig Aberg entered the day with the lead and appeared to be heading for a major victory. However, things fell apart on the final day. He shot four over par, dropping his score to -9 and moving him from first to a T5 finish. Had he just made par on Sunday, he would've tied Young and had a playoff to win.
"It got away from me quick there," Aberg said. "Yeah, it was just poor swings. I felt like I've had that sort of 7-wood right miss a few times this week, on No. 4 especially twice, and it came up on 11 as well. Then tried to press a little bit on 12, hitting driver, where sometimes you can play 3-wood a little short of that bunker."
The Players Championship boasts a stacked field as a Signature Event. Young beat some of the best in the world. This includes Scottie Scheffler (T22), Tommy Fleetwood (T8), Brian Harman (T11), Brooks Koepka (T13), Patrick Cantlay (T32), and Rory McIlroy (T46). Shane Lowry was among the most notable to miss the cut after the second round.
