Weekly Fantasy Golf Recap: Young Money

Cameron Young had just birdied the famed 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass to tie for the lead on Sunday at THE PLAYERS Championship.

He headed to the 18th tee box, where 24 hours earlier he had disastrously sent his drive into the water, double-bogeying the hole to fall four shots behind.

Now, he had fought all the way back.

"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."

That was a heckuva thought.

Young launched his drive a massive 375 yards -- the longest ever recorded on No. 18 at Sawgrass in the ShotLink Era (since 2004). It put incredible pressure on his playing partner and the co-leader, Matt Fitzpatrick, who promptly sent his drive far right and into the pine straw/trees.

Fitzpatrick could not recover and bogeyed the hole. Young, after an 8-inch tap-in par, turned the best shot of his life into the biggest win of his career.

Asked afterward if he tells himself often to hit the "best shot" of his life. Young said: "No, honestly I don't know if I've ever had that thought before. … First time that thought's really popped in my mind, and I think I did what I intended. It's one of the best shots I've ever hit in my life."

Young's heroics on 17 and 18 capped another wild Sunday at THE PLAYERS, one in which Ludvig Aberg kicked away the lead with water balls on Nos. 11 and 12. It was the third straight year that the winner came from four or more shots off the lead in the final round.

It was the second win for Young, who broke through last season at the Wyndham after so many close calls. He had finished runner-up seven times from 2022-24, along with four third-place finishes. He thus moved into the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time and thrust himself into the elite level of golfers, with the Masters just a month away.

Young has always been an elite driver. But, in a development that rarely happens on the PGA Tour to this degree, Young went from a terrible putter to an elite putter. In 2023, he ranked 158th in Strokes Gained: Putting and in 2024, he was 145th. Last year was a metamorphosis, as he ranked seventh on Tour.

This year, Young is very decent 48th, but he ranked seventh in the field for the week at THE PLAYERS -- he was a perfect 59 of 59 from three to seven feet (you read that right). Truth be told, when you also rank fourth in SG: Off-the-Tee, 25th in Approach and 10th in Tee-to-Green, as Young does this season. 48th in Putting very often will be good enough.

It's a bit much to say we saw this win coming – winning a PLAYERS or a major is never that simple – but Young had been trending upward in recent weeks. He tied for seventh at Riviera and for third last week at Bay Hill in two loaded signature events.

Now, he has entered into the conversation to win a major. And where better than Augusta National? Young finished seventh there in 2023 and ninth in 2024.

"My mind for the first part of this season is preparing for the Masters," he said. "So my goal is to be in contention as much as possible before that. This tournament certainly has a major feel; THE PLAYERS is an unbelievable event. I feel like if anything, I mean, it's the best possible prep you could ask for for our first major of the season."

With Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy scuffling at Sawgrass amid other questions about their games, why not Young?

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Matt Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick fought valiantly all day, and he had the solo lead with two holes to go. And this was while enduring loud chants from the pro-Young and pro-USA galleries at Sawgrass. He said they didn't bother him, not after Bethpage at the Ryder Cup. But it surely couldn't have helped. What might have been more unnerving was that drive by Young on 18, coming on the heels of the tying birdie at 17. Fitzpatrick still had an eight-footer for par on 18 after that wayward drive, but it missed the cup to the right. We can't lose sight that Fitzpatrick remains amid a fantastic bounce-back season, one that has vaulted him back inside the top-20 in the world.

Xander Schauffele
It's remarkable that Schauffele finished third. He hit so many bad shots on Saturday, in the final group with Aberg, in shooting 2-over 74. And even on Sunday, he did little until birdieing three of the final four holes. This is what could and does happen when the leader comes back to the pack. Regardless of how it happened, a podium finish had to be welcome for Schauffele, who had been struggling so far in 2026, at least for him. This was his third top-3 at Sawgrass, and we'll see whether that buoys him at the upcoming Valspar. 

Robert MacIntyre
Going out well before the leaders, MacIntyre raced up the leaderboard and was headed for the round of the day amid difficult scoring conditions until he was bitten by two late bogeys on 14 and 16, where he found the water. Still, he wound up solo fourth to end a string of mediocre showings for him.

Ludvig Aberg
Aberg picked the worst possible time to shoot his worst career round (76) at THE PLAYERS. He held the lead from mid-Friday until the back nine on Sunday, by as many as four shots. But water balls on 11 and 12 did him in. He seemed to say all teh right things afterward in talking with reporters. There's no way of knowing how this collapse will affect him, if at all, until we see him next.

Jacob Bridgeman
It's probably time for DraftKings to stop pricing Bridgeman in the $7,000s. He tied for fifth and, on top of his win at Riviera, has not finished outside the top 18 in six starts this season. Not even Scheffler can say that.

Sudarshan Yellamaraju
We're pretty sure we had never typed that name before. Yellamaraju is a 24-year-old Canadian born in India, and was one of the 20 Korn Ferry Tour grads after last season. He introduced himself to the golf world by shooting 66-68 on the weekend. He had played decently in his rookie season, albeit under the radar, with five made cuts in six starts before Sawgrass, with two top-20s. He had played only one PGA Tour event before this season. Since Yellamaraju is ranked top-25 on Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee, Approach and Putting, he bears watching, to say the least.

Justin Thomas
Thomas' first start since offseason back surgery resulted in him finishing last week at Bay Hill, before missing the cut. So it was hard to expect much from him this week. But he was nothing short of sensational in tying for eighth. He ranked top-10 in the field in both SG: Approach and Putting. He surely will be someone to watch at the Valspar.

Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood did what he often does: quietly finish in the top-10. He tied for eighth thanks to a Sunday 68, one shot off the best round of the day to zoom up from outside the top-25. And that was with horrible putting for the week, losing almost three strokes to the field.

Sepp Straka
The ever-steady Straka was on the edge of contention until a fatal double bogey on 14, where he three-putted from inside five feet. He wound up tied for eighth. Golf Twitter seems to have a bit of an issue with Straka being in the top-10 OWGR. But the golfers in the top-10 have been in flux in recent weeks, and Straka consistently shows up in big events. All while being priced in the $7,000s on DraftKings.

Patrick Rodgers
If the Tour Championship started today, Rodgers would be in it. Ever so quietly, he's been crafting a very good season. He tied for 11th at Sawgrass, his second straight top-25 in a big event. He's made all eight of his cuts in 2026, beginning with a top-5 at the Sony.

Brooks Koepka
Koepka has never finished in the top-10 at THE PLAYERS. If not for a double bogey on 18 on Sunday, he would have done it this year. Still, a tie for 13th is a very good result, and we'll be watching what Koepka does next at the Valspar. Koepka's putting issues, which he corrected at the Cognizant, resurfaced at Sawgrass. He ranked 53rd in the field in SG: Putting.

Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler was heading toward a finish outside the top-25 until stringing four birdies in an eight-hole stretch midway through the round. He tied for 22nd. Scheffler has not finished outside the top-25 since the 2024 BMW Championship. But the suddenly very mortal world No. 1 is clearly off his game. We'll probably see him next in his native Texas in one of the two tournaments there leading to the Masters.

Michael Thorbjornsen
Thorbjornsen played Sunday in the final pairing with Aberg. But his tournament effectively ended with quadruple-bogey 8 on the fourth. He doubled 17 for good measure, wound up with a 77 and tied for 22nd.

J.J. Spaun
Spaun tied for 24th. After five tournaments in 2026 with three missed cuts and nothing better than a T40, it's a very good result. Spaun's putting had been horrendous, but he ranked 29th in the field on the week.

Rory McIlroy
McIlroy waited until almost the last possible moment to decide to play, but his back held up and he played all four rounds. He never broke 70, never was a factor and tied for 46th. You never know with back injuries. In light of that, McIlroy might be looking to add a tournament before the defense of his Masters title.

Collin Morikawa
Has there ever been a more disruptive WD than Morikawa's? He pulled out after one hole on Thursday morning, after he tweaked his back and couldn't continue. The injury blew up DFS lineups and wagers 'round the world. With Scheffler and McIlroy entering the tournament with question marks, Morikawa was the most owned player in DFS and one-and-done pools. Of course, beyond that, the real question is, will he be ready for the Masters? Morikawa had looked like his old self the previous three weeks with three straight top-10s, including his win at Pebble Beach.

MISSED CUTS

Jake Knapp, Ben Griffin, Shane Lowry. There weren't many surprising missed cuts. These were the only three. Knapp has had a great season and, while this MC came at a bad time in a big event, it might be just a one-off. Meanwhile, Griffin has been pretty bad all season and Lowry hasn't been the same since back-to-back water balls three weeks ago at the Cognizant.

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