Cameron Young Wins Players Championship as Ludvig Åberg's Three-Shot Lead Dramatically Collapses
Cameron Young has waited a long time for a moment like this.
The 27-year-old was a runner-up seven times on the PGA Tour before finally breaking through with his first win at the Wyndham Championship in August 2025. On Sunday at TPC Sawgrass, he made sure there would be no eighth bridesmaid finish — winning the Players Championship in one of the most dramatic final rounds in recent memory.
Young carded a 4-under 68 to finish 13 under par, one stroke better than England's Matt Fitzpatrick and two clear of Xander Schauffele. The winning margin was slim, but the manner of victory was anything but routine.
Trailing Fitzpatrick by one stroke with two holes to play, Young stepped up on the iconic par-3 17th island green and drained a 9½-foot birdie putt to draw level. He then bombed a 375-yard drive down the right side of the 18th fairway — the longest drive by any player on that hole in the ShotLink era dating back to 2004 — leaving just 98 yards to the flag. He two-putted from the back fringe to make par and wait.
Fitzpatrick, needing a par to force a playoff, drove into the trees on the right and made bogey. The championship was Young's.
"The nerves kicked in over the 8-inch putt on the last," Young admitted. "That hole looked really, really small there from pretty close range. So happy to have finished it off."
Ludvig Åberg Fallls Apart
The bigger story may be what happened to Ludvig Åberg. The 26-year-old Swede entered the final round with a three-shot lead and was still up by two after 10 holes. Then it all unraveled. On the par-5 11th, he sliced his approach into the water for bogey. On the par-4 12th, he hooked his tee shot into the water for double bogey. He bogeyed the 15th as well, shooting 40 on the back nine for a final round 76 and finishing tied for fifth.
"It got away from me quick there," Åberg said. "Just poor swings."
Young collected the $4.5 million winner's check — the richest prize in regular season golf.