New York's Cameron Young Wins The Players Championship

March 16, 2026

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – A clutch birdie on TPC Sawgrass’ intimidating 17th-hole propelled New York State’s Cameron Young to a come-from-behind victory at The Players Championship.

The win marked the second for the 28-year-old since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, and is certainly his most significant career accomplishment to date.

Related: Final ResultsPGA Tour Profile


On Sunday, he trailed 54-hole leader Ludvig Aberg by four shots. The Scarborough native then fired a bogey-free back nine under immense pressure to charge into the winner’s circle. The defining moment came at the iconic, 17th hole’s island green, where he hit his tee shot to 10 feet and set up a championship-tying birdie putt that he would later convert. 

He followed that moment up with a record-breaking 375-yard drive (longest ever recorded on the 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass) en route to securing a par, and 4-under 68. He finished at 13-under par (275) for the tournament, edging out his New York Golf Club (TGL) teammate Matt Fitzpatrick, by only a stroke, after Fitzpatrick missed his eight-foot par putt on the final hole.

"It's so loud on 17. You just know kind of all eyes are right there on you so there's nowhere to hide," Young said after the round to PGA Tour media. "I feel like I stepped up really well and hit a bunch of good shots on those last couple holes, so I'm very proud of that."

The Wake Forest alum now jumps to No. 4 on the Official World Golf Ranking and second on the PGA Tour’s FedExCup points list.

“The nerves kicked in over the 8-inch putt on the last,” he mentioned. “That hole looked really, really small there from pretty close range. So happy to have finished it off, and just really excited to have played the way I did.”

This major victory comes just months after Young's breakthrough last season at the 2025 Wyndham Championship, where he finally snapped a streak of seven career runner-up finishes to become the Tour's 1,000th first-time winner.

For Empire State golf fans, watching Young thrive in a raucous atmosphere is nothing new. He drew heavily on his experience from this past fall's Ryder Cup at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course, where he was the standout American player last September.

Of course, Bethpage Black has long been hallowed ground for Young. Years before he was sinking putts for a $4.5 million winner's check or competing in a Ryder Cup, it was the site of his historic 2017 NYS Open victory, where he became the first amateur to ever win the pro event.

Young’s roots run incredibly deep in the local Met Area golf scene. Growing up playing at Sleepy Hollow Country Club under the watchful eye of his father and longtime coach, PGA Professional David Young, Cam was a highly decorated player in New York State amateur golf. He captured several Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA) and Westchester Golf Association titles, including back-to-back MGA Ike Stroke Play Championships in 2015 and 2016, and earned MGA Player of the Year honors in 2015.