CAMERON YOUNG OUTDUELED England’s Matt Fitzpatrick down the stretch to fire a four-under-par 68 and claim a one-shot victory at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday.
The 28-year-old from New York, who started the day four shots adrift of third-round leader Ludvig Aberg, pocketed the biggest PGA Tour win of his career after rattling in five birdies and a bogey in his final round.
Young, who had drifted off the pace after a double-bogey on the 18th in Saturday’s third round, conjured a moment of magic on Sawgrass’s notoriously tricky par-three 17th to thrust himself into contention.
Conquering the 17th!
Cameron Young’s birdie ties him for the lead heading to the final hole.
Trailing Fitzpatrick by one shot with two holes to play, Young drilled his tee shot onto the water-encircled island green to 10 feet and then rolled in the birdie putt to leave it all square heading to the 18th.
Young quickly erased the memory of his double-bogey nightmare on the 18th from the third round with a majestic tee shot into the centre of the fairway.
CRUSHED! 375 yards down the fairway.
Cameron Young sets the tone down No. 18 with the longest drive of the day by nearly 20 yards.
His second found the back of the green, and although he missed his birdie chance, Fitzpatrick could only bogey to give Young the biggest title and payday of his career with a $4.5m (€3.92m) cheque.
Young’s closing 68 left him on 13-under for the tournament, with Fitzpatrick one adrift on 12-under. Fitzpatrick closed with a 68.
Xander Schauffele took third place with a three-under-par 69 that left him on 11-under, while Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre was a shot back on 10-under after a closing 69.
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Sweden’s Aberg, meanwhile, was left ruing a collapse over the back nine that torpedoed his bid for the title.
After starting the day three shots clear of the pack and leading at the turn by two shots, Aberg’s challenge went awry when he plonked his approach on the par-five 11th into the water before making bogey.
He followed that up with another wobble on the 12th, when he pulled his tee shot into the water down the left-hand side of the fairway before making a double bogey.
Another bogey on the 15th saw him drift further out of contention before he finished with a closing 76, tied for fifth place on nine-under alongside Jacob Bridgeman and Canada’s Sudarshan Yellamaraju.
Rory McIlroy tees off on the 12th hole during Sunday's final round. David Rosenblum / Icon Sportswire/Alamy Stock Photo
David Rosenblum / Icon Sportswire/Alamy Stock Photo / Icon Sportswire/Alamy Stock Photo
Rory McIlroy, who started his week as defending champion unsure if he would even be able to compete due to a back injury, shot one-under par on Sunday to finish on even par for the tournament in a tie for 46th place.
McIlroy had five birdies on his card on Sunday, but saw much of his good work undone by two double bogeys.
“Happy I got through four days and my body feels good,” he said afterwards.
I feel like my game sort of progressively got a little bit better as the week went on, even though the scores probably didn’t reflect it over the weekend.
“I hit the ball well. I just didn’t make anything on the greens.
“Happy to come through four rounds and feel like my body held up well. A couple [of] little things to work on, but overall, not the week that I wanted. Just trying to take the positives.”
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Cameron Young holds off Matt Fitzpatrick to win The Players Championship
CAMERON YOUNG OUTDUELED England’s Matt Fitzpatrick down the stretch to fire a four-under-par 68 and claim a one-shot victory at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday.
The 28-year-old from New York, who started the day four shots adrift of third-round leader Ludvig Aberg, pocketed the biggest PGA Tour win of his career after rattling in five birdies and a bogey in his final round.
Young, who had drifted off the pace after a double-bogey on the 18th in Saturday’s third round, conjured a moment of magic on Sawgrass’s notoriously tricky par-three 17th to thrust himself into contention.
Trailing Fitzpatrick by one shot with two holes to play, Young drilled his tee shot onto the water-encircled island green to 10 feet and then rolled in the birdie putt to leave it all square heading to the 18th.
Young quickly erased the memory of his double-bogey nightmare on the 18th from the third round with a majestic tee shot into the centre of the fairway.
His second found the back of the green, and although he missed his birdie chance, Fitzpatrick could only bogey to give Young the biggest title and payday of his career with a $4.5m (€3.92m) cheque.
Young’s closing 68 left him on 13-under for the tournament, with Fitzpatrick one adrift on 12-under. Fitzpatrick closed with a 68.
Xander Schauffele took third place with a three-under-par 69 that left him on 11-under, while Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre was a shot back on 10-under after a closing 69.
Sweden’s Aberg, meanwhile, was left ruing a collapse over the back nine that torpedoed his bid for the title.
After starting the day three shots clear of the pack and leading at the turn by two shots, Aberg’s challenge went awry when he plonked his approach on the par-five 11th into the water before making bogey.
He followed that up with another wobble on the 12th, when he pulled his tee shot into the water down the left-hand side of the fairway before making a double bogey.
Another bogey on the 15th saw him drift further out of contention before he finished with a closing 76, tied for fifth place on nine-under alongside Jacob Bridgeman and Canada’s Sudarshan Yellamaraju.
Rory McIlroy, who started his week as defending champion unsure if he would even be able to compete due to a back injury, shot one-under par on Sunday to finish on even par for the tournament in a tie for 46th place.
McIlroy had five birdies on his card on Sunday, but saw much of his good work undone by two double bogeys.
“Happy I got through four days and my body feels good,” he said afterwards.
“I hit the ball well. I just didn’t make anything on the greens.
“Happy to come through four rounds and feel like my body held up well. A couple [of] little things to work on, but overall, not the week that I wanted. Just trying to take the positives.”
– © AFP 2026
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