GOLF: Cameron Young wins Players Championship by 1 shot in wild finish

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Cameron Young captured his second PGA Tour victory and the biggest win of his career with a dramatic one-shot triumph at The Players Championship on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass.

Trailing England's Matt Fitzpatrick by one stroke with two holes remaining, Young leveled with a birdie on the par-3 17th after a precise tee shot to 9 ½ feet and calmly parred the 18th to finish with a 4-under-par 68. His 13-under 275 total put him one stroke ahead of Fitzpatrick, who also shot 68 but bogeyed the final hole after his tee shot found the right-side tree line.

Former U.S. Open champion Fitzpatrick had a chance to force a playoff with an 8 ½-foot par putt on 18, but it slid past the cup, leaving him in second place.

Two-time major champion Xander Schauffele closed with a 69 to finish third at 11 under, one stroke ahead of Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, who also shot 69.

“I feel like we kept ourselves in a really good spot all day, really all week,” Young said after holing his final putt. “The nerves kicked in over the 8-inch putt on the last. That hole looked really small up close. I’m so happy to finish it off and thrilled with how I played.”

The 28-year-old New Yorker, who won his first PGA Tour title at the 2025 Wyndham Championship, celebrated conquering a tournament known for one of the deepest fields in golf and often called the “fifth major.”

“To have my name on two different tournaments, including a big one like The Players, is incredibly special. I hope to keep this momentum going through the season,” he said.

Fitzpatrick, pursuing his third PGA Tour win, started the final round strongly with three birdies in the first four holes and briefly led Young after a birdie on the 15th.

“I felt like I did a lot of good things,” Fitzpatrick said of his six-birdie, two-bogey round. “It’s frustrating not to come away with a better result.”

Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who led by three shots entering the final round, faltered with a bogey on the 11th and a double bogey on the 12th, finishing tied for fifth at 9 under after a 76.

“Obviously I’m disappointed,” Aberg said. “I was striking it well early, but the back nine got away from me. Still, I saw some positive things in my game this week.”

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, The Players champion in 2023 and 2024, finished tied for 22nd at 5 under after a 1-under 71. Defending champion Rory McIlroy, World No. 2, ended even par, tied for 46th, reflecting on “not the week I wanted” after arriving late to the event and managing a back injury.

Chad Ramey provided a highlight of the day with a hole-in-one on the par-3 13th, the first of his PGA Tour career, en route to a final-round 71 and a tie for 27th at 3 under.

“It was great, especially since putts weren’t falling that day,” Ramey said. -Mark Lamport-Stokes, Field Level Media/Reuters