Golfing Legend Cameron Young Soars to PGA Tour Success!
Cameron Young hit the shot of his life to win the 2026 Players Championship on Sunday. It wasn't a long putt or a hole-out; it was a 375-yard drive on TPC Sawgrass' par-4 18th – the longest drive on that hole by any player since the ShotLink era began in 2004. A few shots later, his playing partner Matt Fitzpatrick would bogey, setting up Young's winning par putt.
The 18th hole has had some bite in it all week, derailing rounds left and right. Young was a victim himself, with his tee shot going in the water on Saturday. Just 24 hours later, he was tied with Fitzpatrick for the lead at 13 under, needing to avoid the same fate.
"The overarching thought is I'm going to hit the best shot of my life right here," Young said about what he was thinking when he stood over his ball at the 18th tee box. "I don't know if I can think of one that's better. " Young started the day four shots back of Round 3 leader Ludvig Åberg, who was 13 under at the time.
By the end of Round 4, they had switched scores – Young won at 13 under, and Åberg finished T-5 at nine under. Åberg was holding steady until the back nine, when disaster struck at the par-5 11th and par-4 12th. Back-to-back water balls carded him a bogey and double bogey in quick succession, all but eliminating the Swede from contention.
Michael Thorbjornsen was playing with Åberg in the final pairing. He entered the round one shot ahead of Young but met a worse fate than Åberg. Between holes three and four, Thorbjornsen went from one under on the day to three over – a water ball leading to a devastating quadruple bogey.