Cameron Young birdies 17, wins Players Championship on final hole

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida — cameron young He finished runner-up seven times on the PGA Tour before earning his first win at the Windham Championship in August 2025.

Heading into the final round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday, Young looked determined to make sure he doesn’t finish second again.

behind England matt fitzpatrick Down one stroke with two holes to play, Young tied his playing partner with birdie on the prestigious 17th hole and then beat him with par on the 18th, where Fitzpatrick’s drive into the trees on the right resulted in a bogey 5.

“I feel like we put ourselves in really good position all day today, really all week,” Young said. “Nerves hit with an 8-inch putt at the last. That hole looked really short up close. Very happy to finish, and really excited to play the way I did.”

Fitzpatrick, who was trying to become the first English golfer to win the Players Championship, narrowly missed an 8-foot par putt on the 18th, forcing a three-hole playoff.

He didn’t have much of a chance for birdie as his drive missed the draw and stopped in dense pine straw without a path to the green.

“I picked up the tee quickly,” Fitzpatrick said. “I felt like I hit a good shot, maybe pushed it a little bit. [We] Felt that the wind had shifted a little from the right side. Obviously, I know Cam played the draw. He also got a little shaken. I thought the same would happen to me too. Obviously, that’s it [went] Died straight away.”

Young carded 4-under 68 and finished at 13-under 275, one stroke better than Fitzpatrick and two strokes better than the two-time major championship winner. xander schaufele. ludvig abergWith a three-shot lead entering the final round, he shot 40 on the back nine to shoot 76 and finish in fifth place.

After Fitzpatrick tied, Young bombed a 375-yard drive down the right side of the 18th fairway, leaving the hole only 98 yards. It was the longest drive by any player on No. 18 at TPC Sawgrass in the Shotlink era (since 2004).

Young’s approach shot then stopped on the back fringe, and he two-putted from 9½ feet to pick up the biggest win of his career – and the $4.5 million winner’s check.

Young caught Fitzpatrick at 13 under on the famous 17th, taking a more aggressive line from the tee to the island green. Fitzpatrick hit his tee shot wide of the green and needed two putts from 28½ feet for par.

Young calmly made a birdie putt from 9½ feet to tie Fitzpatrick with one hole remaining.

“It eventually became a big number,” Young said. “It’s 130 [yards] Over that bunker, and I saw Matt hit a sand wedge right in front of me. And I felt like if he could blow it right where I was looking, I felt like I could blow it in the same number. So, it was just a complete out, not as much panic as a slightly more sensitive person would have had.”

Fitzpatrick looked to be in control with two holes to play. He started the final round tied for fourth at 8 under, five strokes behind Aberg. Fitzpatrick came out of the gate with great enthusiasm, posting birdies on three of the first four holes. He made putts of 12 feet, 3½ feet and 7 feet on Nos. 1, 2 and 4 respectively to move to 11 under.

Fitzpatrick cooled off with pars on seven straight holes, before another stretch of three birdies on four holes. On the par-4 12th, he hit his second shot from 3 feet. On the par-3 13th, his tee shot stopped 4 feet from the hole.

After making a bogey with a three-putt on the 14th, Fitzpatrick made a 12-foot putt for another birdie to get back to 13 under.

Aberg started the day with a three-stroke lead to start the round and led by two after 10 holes, but then disaster struck on back-to-back holes. On the par-5 11th, Aberg badly hampered his approach from 267 yards into water on the right side, leading to a bogey 6. On the par-4 12th, Aberg hit his tee shot left into the water, leading to a double-bogey 6. He also bogeyed the par-4 15th and fell four strokes behind Fitzpatrick.

“It just jumped out at me,” Aberg said. “Yeah, it was just a bad swing. I felt like I missed a 7-wood right a few times this week, twice on No. 4 specifically, and it came up on 11 as well. Then tried to put a little pressure on 12, hit driver, where sometimes you can play a 3-wood a little low out of that bunker.”