Cam Young's Comeback and Other Top Stories at the 2026 Players Championship
The Players Championship, which is contested annually at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, is one of the most prestigious tournaments on the PGA Tour. Considered a fifth major by many, it is ranks just below the Masters, U.S. Open, PGA Championship, and The Open Championship in terms of importance. It has more than 50 years of history, with notable champions like Rory McIlroy (2025 and 2019), Tiger Woods (2013 and 2001), Greg Norman (1994), and Jack Nicklaus (1978, 1976, and 1974).
The 2026 Players Championship, held from March 12-15, featured 46 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) in a 123-player field. American Cameron Young, with a 4-under 68 in the final round, rallied to win the tournament for the first time in his career, earning the $4.5 million winner's prize. He was 13-under through four rounds.
Here's a look at how Young got the job done at TPC Sawgrass and some other noteworthy items from the weekend.
Young's Impressive Final Two Holes
Young's triumph cemented his status as one of the top players on the PGA Tour in 2026, a testament to his recent player. He went 94 starts—and had seven runner-up finishes—before winning for the first time at the 2025 Wyndham Championship last August. His performance down the stretch, particularly during the last two holes, helped him steal the Players Championship from 28-year-old Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick, who finished second at 12-under par.
Young was one shot behind Fitzpatrick heading to the famed island green No. 17, where he hit the ball to within 10 feet of the hole and made birdie to move into a tie for first place. He followed that up with a 375-yard fairway drive on No. 18, setting a record for the longest shot on that hole. Fitzpatrick, whose drive veered right into the pine straw, scrambled and missed an 8-foot par putt that would have forced a playoff.
"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 tournament. " I feel like I stepped up really well and hit a bunch of good shots those last couple holes, so I'm very proud of that."
Ludvig Åberg's Back-Nine Collapse
Neither Young nor Fitzpatrick were the favorites to win heading into the final round. That distinction went to 26-year-old Swede Ludvig Åberg, who had a three-stroke lead to begin the day. He still led by two strokes at the turn, but went bogey-double bogey on Nos. 11 and 12. He finished the round with a 4-over 76, settling into a tie for fifth place at 9-under.
Åberg, who has yet to win a major championship, admitted that he felt some nerves throughout the tournament, particularly during the final round.
Fitzpatrick and the Feisty US Crowd
Not surprisingly, the US crowd at TPC Sawgrass was decidedly in favor of Young during the final few holes of the tournament. Fitzpatrick could be seen laughing at many of the jeers, boos, and comments that he received while on the course, but acknowledged afterwards that it didn't have much of an impact on his game.
While suggesting that crowds in Europe would be a little more "polite," he acknowledged that he wasn't all that bothered by the comments, noting it "was literally child's play compared to Bethpage."
Fitzpatrick was on the European Ryder Cup team last fall that beat the US at the New York course.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju's Breakthrough
Indian-Canadian rookie Sudarshan Yellamaraju had his best result to date at the Players Championship, finishing tied for fifth at 9-under after shooting 10-under in the final two rounds. A relative unknown to most casual golf fans, Yellamaraju moved from India to Winnipeg, Manitoba, when he was 4 years old and taught himself how to swing a club by watching Woods, McIlroy, and other professionals on YouTube.
The 24-year-old player earned $925,000 for his performance at the Players. He continued his impressive play two weeks later, finishing tied for sixth with a 13-under par at the Texas Children's Houston Open.
Brooks Koepka Returns to Form
The only four players in the OWGR top-50 who weren't at TPC Sawgrass were members of the rival LIV Golf. Brooks Koepka, a five-time major championship winner, joined LIV in 2022, but returned to the PGA Tour this past December and competed in his first event back at the Farmers Insurance Open in January.
Koepka finished tied for 56th at the Farmers and missed the cut at his next event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He followed that up with a T9 finish at the Cognizant Classic and was tied for 13th at the Players, shooting a 6-under 282.