Young snatches Players title from Fitzpatrick
He had started the final round six shots off the pace but after five birdies in his opening 11 holes lifted him to 11 under he thought he "was in with a shout". A three-putt bogey on the 14th was followed by a birde on the next, with the par-five 16th offering the chance of another birdie. However, after hitting his second shot into greenside rough, he could only hack his ball out and watch helplessly as it trundled across the green and into the water, leading to another bogey.
"It's a sore one right now," he said. "On 17 and 18 we played aggressive but smart. That was the caddie's words.
I was wanting to go straight at that pin on 17, just throw the dice at it. "But I wouldn't have wanted to walk off there with a bogey on 16, a double on 17, and then probably a bogey on 18 with my head off. Overall a decent week.
" Young was still one adrift on the notoriously tricky par-three 17th, with its green almost surrounded by water and the hole tucked towards the right edge. But he found the putting surface and rolled in a 10ft birdie, while Fitzpatrick could only two-putt for par and the players marched to the 18th tee for a final-hole shootout locked on 13 under. Fitzpatrick was welcomed by pantomime boos from the partisan fans who were predictably rooting for their man.
"The crowd was child's play compared to Bethpage," said the Yorkshireman, referring to the treatment handed out to Europe's players at last September's Ryder Cup in New York. "If they think that that was anything, then they need to reassess. Get yourself up to New York.