Home GOLF Cameron Young Wins Players Championship in Thrilling Finish

Cameron Young Wins Players Championship in Thrilling Finish

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Young edges Fitzpatrick in dramatic Sawgrass showdown

Cameron Young claims biggest PGA Tour win, beating Matt Fitzpatrick by one shot at TPC Sawgrass.


Dramatic finish at Players Championship sees Young pip Fitzpatrick in thrilling duel...


Cameron Young edged out Matt Fitzpatrick with a strong finish to win The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Young shot a 4-under 68, overcoming a four-shot deficit to claim his biggest PGA Tour win.


The New York native made five birdies and a bogey to pip England's Fitzpatrick by a single shot. Ludvig Aberg led after round three, but couldn't quite keep up.


Young gapped up after Sunday's win, saying Sawgrass's brutal 7,352-yard layout made the victory feel special, really testing players' mental game.


†It's absolutely exhausting,” Young said. “This place has had my number the last few years. I've never really had a good finish here. It is incredibly taxing.


“Every shot all day long you can get yourself into trouble. There's no easy ones. There's no givens. And you're going to make mistakes.


“It's a great test of will, a test of patience and obviously a test of hitting some good shots. I feel like I did a lot of those things really well this week.”


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 bounced back from a nightmare 18th on Saturday with a solid tee shot on the same hole Sunday. He missed a birdie chance, but it didn't matter – Fitzpatrick bogeyed, handing Young the title.


Young's 13-under 275 secured the $4.5m winner's check, his biggest payday ever. Fitzpatrick finished a shot back at 12-under.




Fitzpatrick Undeterred by Hostile Crowd

Matt Fitzpatrick shrugged off the raucous crowd on Sunday, saying it wasn't a factor in his near-miss. The Englishman had a “hilarious” time, despite being booed on the 18th tee.


Fitzpatrick compared it to the intense atmosphere at Bethpage Black during last year's Ryder Cup, implying the US crowd's energy wasn't a big deal. He finished with a 68, one shot off Young's winning score.


“Listen, the crowd, that was literally child's play compared to Bethpage,” Fitzpatrick. “If they think that that was anything, then they need to reassess. Get yourself up to New York.
“That's how it is. I would hope it's the exact same -- well, it probably wouldn't be because we're a little bit more polite in Europe -- but I would hope it would be of similar intensity in Europe. It's funny to me. I find it hilarious.”



Other Finishers

Xander Schauffele took third with a 69 (11-under), while Robert MacIntyre was close behind on 10-under. 


Ludvig Aberg's title hopes fizzled out on the back nine, ultimately falling short of the top spot.


Aberg's lead evaporated quickly on the back nine. He dropped shots on 11 (bogey) and 12 (double bogey), killing his chances.


The Swede had been cruising, leading by two at the turn. Water hazards proved costly, and he couldn't recover.




Aberg's struggles continued with another bogey on 15, and he closed with a 76. He ended tied for fifth on 9-under.


He was grouped with Jacob Bridgeman and Sudarshan Yellamaraju, who also finished strong.



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