PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida — Cameron Young had given up on his own expectations, and for good reason.
Seeing him pose with The Players Championship trophy makes it easy to forget that he once tied a PGA Tour record with seven runner-up finishes — all of them in a 30-month span — before winning. His stroke average for those silver medals was 67.5. Someone was always a little bit better.
Young missed winning two majors by a whisker his rookie year in 2022. He made double bogey from a bunker on the 16th hole in the PGA Championship and finished one shot out of a playoff.
“One of those times I’m going to shoot 5 under on the back and that’s going to be good enough,” he said that day at Southern Hills. Two months later he shot 5 under on the back nine at St. Andrews. Cameron Smith shot 30 and beat him by one.
But the 28-year-old New Yorker had big expectations for his biggest moment at The Players.
Young was tied for the lead with Matt Fitzpatrick on the fearsome 18th tee at the TPC Sawgrass, the entire left side of the fairway framed by water he had found only the day before. Young had 18 holes to recover from that shot, no room for error on this one.
“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,” Young said. “I don’t know if I can think of one that’s better.”
Tiger Woods had his “better than most” putt on the island-green 17th in 2001. Young had his “longer than anyone” moment on the 18th on Sunday with a 375-yard drive that will become part of Players Championship lore.
It was a surprising admission from Young, who keeps so much under wraps. The beard is reminiscent of Dustin Johnson, the emotional flatline of David Duval.
“First time that thought’s really popped in my mind,” Young said. “And I think I did what I intended. It’s one of the best shots I’ve ever hit in my life.”
It was only his second PGA Tour victory, but the body of work — seven runner-up finishes, three top 5s in the majors, a big performance in the Ryder Cup — would suggest more is to come. How much more? That might require setting goals, and Young has been down that road before.
