Cameron Young snatched victory at The Players after Ludwig Oberg and Matt Fitzpatrick saw their title hopes evaporate on a fantastic Sunday at TPC Sawgrass.
Young overturned a four-shot deficit in a thrilling final round, mixing in five birdies and the only bogey to shoot a four-under 68 and snatch a one-stroke victory over playing partner Matt Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick dropped four strokes in five holes on the back nine and watched Oberg blow a three-stroke lead overnight, coming back from five behind to take the lead with two holes remaining.
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Ludwig Oberg goes into water on back-to-back holes at The Players and gives up the lead
Young tied the Briton with a birdie on the par-3 17th hole, but Fitzpatrick hit a tree on the 72nd hole and missed the playoff 8-foot par putt, sealing a one-stroke victory.
It was Young’s second win on the PGA Tour and his first since last year’s Wyndham Championship, and the $4.5 million prize was locked in. Fitzpatrick, who was at 12 under, finished second ahead of Xander Schauffele, with Scotland’s Bob McIntyre fourth.
How Young made it through the Sawgrass thriller
Oberg was quickly put under pressure by partner Michael Thorbjornsen, but the debutant only canceled out his second birdie with a quadruple-bogey on the par-4 fourth, with Fitzpatrick, Young and Viktor Hovland springing into action early on the final day.
The Swede made good use of the same par-5, but missed an up-and-down to save par on the fourth, extending his par to finish the front nine and being two ahead of McIntyre and Fitzpatrick at the turn.
Ludwig Oberg currently converts only one of four 54-hole leads worldwide
Young was one shot behind by the turn at the 35th, but a birdie on the back nine moved him into a tie for second, while Oberg found water on his approach to the par-5 11th for bogey, moving everyone closer to the lead.
Oberg also hit water on his tee shot on the next hole and made double bogey, but Fitzpatrick, playing in the group ahead of him, picked up a shot on the 12th and birdied Young on the 13th to take a one-place lead.
Fitzpatrick’s bogey on the 14th tied Young, but Fitzpatrick made a 15-foot birdie on the next hole only for Young to roll in from 10 feet for an extra point on the 17th hole and momentum reversed again.
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Highlights of Matt Fitzpatrick’s final round of The Players, where he narrowly missed out on victory due to a late bogey
Fitzpatrick noticed a tree off the final tee and failed to stand up after a layup on the closing par-4, missing from 8 feet, but Young hit the back fringe in two and two putts for par, capping off his second PGA Tour win.
“To have your name on two different tournaments and a tournament as big as The Players is incredibly special,” Young said. “Hopefully we can continue that throughout the season.”
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Watch Cameron Young kick in par on the final par 4 to seal the victory.
Young never held the sole lead at any point in the tournament until he held an 8-inch putt for a 4-under 68 and finished the week at 13 under, one spot ahead of Fitzpatrick, but Oberg dropped another shot on the 15th and stumbled to a final-round 76 to finish tied for fifth.
“Obviously it was really disappointing,” Oberg said. “I felt like I was hitting it well early on. I missed a few things, especially the left error on No. 4, but overall I was happy with the week. Obviously today’s back nine wasn’t great, but sometimes that happens.”
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Ludwig Oberg upset after throwing away The Players’ lead on the back nine at TPC Sawgrass
Oberg shared fifth place with Sudarshan Yelamaraju and Jacob Bridgman, while Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka and Justin Thomas rounded out the top ten.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot a final-round 71 to finish tied for 22nd place, eight strokes behind, and defending champion Rory McIlroy ended the week in a shared 46th place.
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Rory McIlroy’s highlights from The Players final round. He shot a 1-under 71 and finished the week at level par.
What’s next?
The PGA Tour will be in Florida for the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor. Early coverage will begin on Sky Sports Golf from 11.30am on Thursday, ahead of full coverage from 6pm.
There are less than four weeks left until the opening game of this year’s men’s major. McIlroy’s title defense at the Masters will be broadcast live exclusively on Sky Sports Golf from April 9th to 12th. Get and stream Sky Sports without a contract.
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