PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The Players Championship might not be the fifth major, but the PGA Tour’s flagship event delivered another thrilling finish at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday.
Cameron Young picked up the biggest victory of his career when he chased down 2022 U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick on the final two holes for a 1-shot victory.
Young carded a 4-under 68 in the final round to finish 13-under 275, one stroke better than Fitzpatrick and two over Xander Schauffele.
Young was a hero for the U.S. Ryder Cup team during its 15-13 loss to Europe at Bethpage Black State Park in New York in September, picking up four points by going 3-1 in his matches.
That performance helped him earn the admiration of many of the fans at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday.
“It definitely helps,” Young said. “It just provides you some kind of context for how you can perform and how you can think when you feel that way. Dealing with nerves is tricky. Your senses are kind of heightened.”
Here’s a look back at who performed well — and who didn’t — in the Players Championship:
Winner: Cameron Young
Young needed 94 starts to collect his first PGA Tour victory, and there were some painful learning moments along the way. His seven runner-up finishes during that stretch were the most by any golfer on tour since 1983.
After finally picking up his first win in the Wyndham Championship in August 2025, he didn’t have to wait as long for the second.
The 28-year-old caught Fitzpatrick with a memorable birdie on the iconic par-3 17th and beat him with a par on the equally difficult 18th.
“The stadium atmosphere out there is unbelievable,” Young said. “It’s so loud on 17. The way everything is raised, you just know kind of all eyes are right there on you. So there’s nowhere to hide, and 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.”
If there were any lingering doubts about Young’s ability to close out victories, the former Wake Forest star answered them with a brilliant 57-degree wedge shot and 9½-foot birdie putt on the island green 17th — and a massive 375-yard drive on the closing hole. It was the longest drive by any player on No. 18 at TPC Sawgrass in the ShotLink era (since 2004).
“I drove it so well last week, and I drove it so average this week,” Young said. “I felt like I never quite got in a rhythm. It just never was coming out the way that I meant it to. And I finally hit a couple good ones on the back. Then yeah, the one on 18, I mean, my thought process over that ball is, one, making sure that I’m committed to my line, and two, the overarching thought is I’m going to hit the best shot of my life right here.”
The 26-year-old started the final round with a three-stroke lead and was ahead by two after making the turn at even par on Sunday. But then things fell apart on Nos. 11 and 12. His swing on his approach from 267 yards with a 7-wood wasn’t good, and he sliced the ball into the water on the right, leading to a bogey 6.
After that mistake, Åberg seemed to get greedy on the short par-4 12th, hitting his driver off the tee, which only compounded the problem. He badly hooked his drive into water on the left, leading to a double-bogey 6, which all but knocked him out of contention.
“We had sort of a game plan as driver would be an option, and today obviously the wind was a little bit different from what we’ve had, and it was a good wind for it,” Åberg said of hitting his driver on the 12th. “But yeah, it was a poor swing, a really poor swing, and it definitely stings a little bit.”
Åberg carded a 4-over 76 in the final round and tied for fifth at 9 under.
“You’re always going to feel nerves,” he said. “Definitely felt nerves this morning, I felt nerves yesterday and I felt nerves on Thursday and Friday as well. I think the main thing for me is I think about winning, but I try not to get ahead of myself when I’m playing golf.
“I think the front nine we handled quite well. I felt like we handled it to the point where it definitely could have been a few shots better here and there. It was just a disappointing back nine, and hopefully I’ll do a little bit better next time.”
Few golf fans had probably heard of the PGA Tour rookie before this past weekend. He went 10 under during his final 36 holes in his first Players Championship start and tied for fifth at 9 under, his best finish on tour.
Yellamaraju was born in India and moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, when he was 4. He learned how to swing a club by watching YouTube videos of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and others. He practiced in an indoor facility and could play outside for only a few months a year in Canada.
“I know I can compete and contend, and I have a lot of belief in myself, but that results-based confidence is something you can’t match,” Yellamaraju said. “Once you do something, you know you can do that or better. Obviously, wherever I finish, I know I can do that, and then kind of move up from there.”
Yellamaraju still doesn’t have a swing coach — he has never had one — and relies on his father and caddie to give him feedback.
Every aspect of his game stood up in The Players. He was fourth in strokes gained: putting (5.501), 15th in approach (4.503) and tied for second in driving distance (311.2 yards).
After his finish at TPC Sawgrass, Yellamaraju jumped from 216th in the Official World Golf Ranking to 145th. He also collected $925,000.
“I always want to go and win every tournament, but that’s not realistically possible,” Yellamaraju said. “I just wanted to play one shot at a time, play the best golf that I could. I stayed patient. I fought until the very end and never gave up, and that’s all I could wish for.”
Loser: Rory McIlroy
A back injury prevented McIlroy from ever making a serious charge in his Players Championship defense. He didn’t arrive at TPC Sawgrass until Wednesday and didn’t play a practice round. He looked rusty, especially on the greens.
Give McIlroy credit for grinding and making the cut. He tied for 46th at even par.
McIlroy wasn’t sure whether he’ll play again before the Masters, the first major of the season at Augusta National Golf Club on April 9-12.
“[I’m] happy I got through four days and my body feels good,” McIlroy said. “I feel like my game sort of progressively got a little bit better as the week went on, even though the scores probably didn’t reflect it over the weekend. I hit the ball well. I just didn’t make anything on the greens.”
Winner: Xander Schauffele
It was only a matter of time before Schauffele started playing like a major championship contender again, and he started to find that form at TPC Sawgrass.
After battling a painful rib injury for much of 2025, Schauffele gave himself a chance in The Players with birdies on three of the last four holes, including a 20½-footer that fell on No. 18 to make him the clubhouse leader at 11 under.
It wasn’t enough in the end.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the two-time major winner back in contention in the Masters.
“A lot of good things,” Schauffele said of his performance at TPC Sawgrass. “I’d say my approach was really good through the first couple rounds. I’d say it was pretty solid this week. Didn’t miss a fairway. [I] would like to clean the putter up just a little bit. I feel like I’m missing some of those inside 5- to 10-foot range. Other than that, I’ve got time.”
