PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Cameron Young picked up a big title to go with his major talent Sunday, hitting the shot of his career to 10 feet on the wind-blown island green for birdie and winning The Players Championship when Matt Fitzpatrick missed an 8-foot par putt on the final hole.
Young played bogey-free on the back nine where so many hopes faded, and blistered a 375-yard drive — the longest ever on the 18th at the TPC Sawgrass — that set up a par and a 4-under 68.
It was only his second victory on the PGA Tour. He tied the tour record with seven runner-up finishes before finally winning late last summer in the Wyndham Championship. But this is the PGA Tour’s crown jewel, loosely known as the fifth major, and the pressure was just intense at the end.
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Ludvig Aberg, who had a three-shot lead going into the final round, imploded on the back nine with shots into the water on consecutive holes. He shot 40 on the back nine for a 76 and tied for fifth.
Fitzpatrick was the first to seize on Aberg’s collapse, hitting wedge to tap-in range for birdie on the 12th and a tee shot to 4 feet for birdie on the 13th.
Young stayed with him and caught him with the clutch birdie on the par-3 17th. A day earlier, Young found the water on the 18th and had to scramble for double bogey. This time, he drilled his tee shot and hit a lob wedge from 98 yards to the back fringe.
Fitzpatrick went too far right into the pine straw and pitched out just short of the green, then hit a good chip to 8 feet. When Fitzpatrick missed his putt to force a playoff, Young was left with a tap-in par to finish at 13-under 275 and collect the $4.5 million prize. He moves to No. 4 in the world.
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Bryson DeChambeau hit his drive into the water and still won the playoff with a par Sunday at LIV Golf Singapore when Richard T. Lee of Canada missed a 2-foot putt.
DeChambeau birdied the par-5 18th for a 5-under 66. Lee birdied four of his last six holes for a 66. They finished on 14-under 274 at Sentosa Golf Club.
Lee Westwood closed with a 70 and finished third, his best finish in LIV.
Lee was trying to become the first wild card — players not affiliated with a team — to win in the LIV Golf League. It looked certain the playoff would go another hole when Lee had a 2-footer for par. He jabbed at it with a quick stroke and it spun out hard off the left lip.
“It was a short putt and I wanted to just hit it hard, and I hit it a little too hard,” Lee said. “I think the adrenaline was pumping a little bit.”
The 35-year-old Lee picked up $2,250,000 for his runner-up finish, the largest check of his career. He earned his spot in the Saudi-funded league by winning the LIV Promotions event.
DeChambeau put his hands over his head in disbelief when Lee missed the playoff putt. He said it reminded him of John Daly having a 15-foot birdie putt to beat Tiger Woods in a World Golf Championships playoff in 2005, only to three-putt by missing a 3-foot par putt.
“To actually see that happen in front of you, for you to be the positive receiving side of it, it’s just a weird feeling,” DeChambeau said. “But it’s a win and something I’ll appreciate for the rest of my life. Even if I lost today, I was still looking pretty good at my game. I was excited the way I was striking it coming in the last couple days.”
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It was DeChambeau’s first victory over 72 holes since he won the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2024, and it was his fourth title on LIV Golf.
Jon Rahm finished fifth, ending a stretch of five tournaments he won or was runner-up.
The 4 Aces captained by Dustin Johnson won the team competition for the second straight week.