There are few golf tournaments that are as maddening to the participants and as much of a challenge to compete in than the Players Championship. When the final round includes severely windy conditions, multiply the difficulty factor by two or three times.
What was Cam Young thinking as he stood over the ball on the 18th tee?
"I'm going to hit the best shot of my life right here."
So clutch. 😤 pic.twitter.com/mWse7ZICvt
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) March 15, 2026
That was the case in the final round of this year's tournament, and Cameron Young was not about to be bothered by his opponents or the conditions. He birdied the 17th hole to move to 13 under par, and that allowed him to tie Matthew Fitzpatrick for the lead.
He refused to let the pressure get to him on the 18th as he hit a letter-perfect drive and went on to par the challenging hole while Fitzpatrick was unable to match that. Fitzpatrick's drive headed into the trees on the far right and he ended up with a bogey.
That gave Young the victory in the Players Championship. He explained the mindset that he had as he stood over his tee shot on the final hole. “I am going to hit the best shot of my life right here,” Young said. “I don't know that I've ever hit a better one — especially under the circumstances.”
Fitzpatrick rallied after his errant drive. He put himself in a position to force a playoff if he could have made an 8-foot putt on the 18th hole, but it narrowly missed and he had to settle for second place.
Young won the tournament because he shot a 4-under 68 in the final round. In addition earning a one-stroke victory over Fitzpatrick, he finished two strokes ahead of Xander Schauffele.
Young earned $4.5 million with his victory in the Players.



![Matt Fitzpatrick hits out of the rough on the 18th hole during the final round of The Players Championship at The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Sunday March 15, 2026. Cameron Young won with a score of -13 par. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Matt-Fitzpatrick-hits-out-of-the-rough-on-the-18th-hole.jpg?w=200&quality=90)















