America’s Cameron Young snatched the prestigious Players Championship title from Matt Fitzpatrick’s grasp in a pulsating finish at TPC Sawgrass.
Fitzpatrick, looking to become the first Englishman to win the PGA Tour’s flagship event, led by one on the 17th tee, but a par-bogey finish cost him as Young closed birdie-par to complete the biggest victory of his career by one stroke.
Young shot a four-under-par 68 to win his second PGA Tour title on 13 under par, with Fitzpatrick finishing second on 12 under after shooting the same final round score.
Scotland’s Bob MacIntyre shared the lead deep into the back nine, but the left-handed Ryder Cup star’s challenge eventually ended in the water on the 16th as he signed for a 69 to finish fourth on 10 under, one shot behind his playing partner Xander Schauffele, who had three birdies in his final four holes to climb to third on 11 under.
ABERG SUFFERS WATERY FINISH
All four players were given a shot at the title after third round leader Ludvig Aberg, who held a three-shot lead going into the back nine, imploded after finding water on both the 11th and 12th holes, costing him those three shots.
Fitzpatrick, who had missed birdie chances from 15, 11, 11 and seven feet on four successive holes from the eighth, birdied 12 and 13 to surge into the lead on 13 under. But Young stuck with him, also picking up a shot on the short 13th to stay one back.
Young was still one adrift on the notoriously tricky par-three 17th, with its green almost surrounded by water. But he found the green and rolled in a 10-foot birdie, while Fitzpatrick could only two-putt for par and the players headed to the 18th tee for a final-hole shootout.
FINAL HOLE DRAMA
Young smashed the perfect drive, a 375-yard effort that curved right to left to leave him in the middle of the fairway, while Fitzpatrick’s went straight and among the trees, leaving him unable to reach the green in two. From there he was left with a tricky chip from 20 yards short of the game to a back pin, which he did well to hit to 10 feet.
Young’s approach to 18 found the back the green, some 15 feet from the pin, but after the American’s birdie attempt slid 12 inches past the hole, Fitzpatrick was left needing to hole his par putt to keep his hopes alive. The putt slipped agonisingly past the cup, leaving Young a simple tap-in to claim the $4.5 million first prize.
After securing his maiden PGA Tour title at last year’s Wyndham Championship, Young admitted that breaking his duck seven months ago had helped him to play with a little more freedom this season.
He said: “In some sense there’s a little bit of pressure off, but the same pressure that I have put on myself since I was a kid is still there. So, it’s more a battle against that than any pressure of not winning or not winning enough. But to have now put my name on two different tournaments, and a big one like The Players, is incredibly special and I’m hoping that I can continue that throughout the season.”
For all the scores from The Players Championship, click here.
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