Cameron Young was 4 strokes behind the leader, Ludvig Aberg, at the end of Round 3 at the $25 million event, the Players Championship 2026. Yet, he won the event and took home a $4.5 million paycheck. And it was all possible because of a single mistake made by one of the steadiest hands on the PGA Tour. If it were not for that, Young would have had to play a playoff round, and who knows what would have happened then. Now, he has opened up about one thing that made it a mistake.

“He had been in full control, too. There was no part of me that expected him to make a mistake. He had played great, and he’s not shy in a moment like that. I mean, he’s won a US Open. He won trying to think Hilton Head in the playoff a couple of years ago, hitting something to a foot. He’s a guy that you’re not necessarily wanting to play against in a situation like that,” Cameron Young said about Matt Fitzpatrick on Fore Play Podcast Plus.

“He’s really good and doesn’t back down from a moment like that. So, we weren’t expecting him to make a mistake, but obviously, when he hits it, hits it solid, and the ball’s going a long way, and it was too far right, kind of not off the club face. But once it didn’t turn, we knew it was going through. So it was kind of surprising to watch.”

Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick both rose to contention during the final round at the Players Championship 2026. Young was 4 strokes behind, and Fitzpatrick was 5 strokes behind Ludvig Aberg. Fitzpatrick, especially, was 5-under on the final day when he was through hole 15.

He was driving exceptionally well throughout the day, and his putting was also good. The 2x PGA Tour winner was ranked 2nd in driving distance and T5 in driving accuracy in Round 4. But despite the consistent play, he made a huge mistake on the final 18th green.

Young, on the other hand, was 1-stroke behind the Englishman until hole 17. However, Fitzpatrick finished on par while the Players Championship 2026 winner hit a birdie on hole 17. Young described it as a game-on moment for the title.

Then, on the 18th, Fitzpatrick hit a bogey, and Young finished on par to win the event. The American professional didn’t expect him to make such a mistake. He said that the Englishman is usually money under pressure. He won the US Open 2022 by defeating Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris by a single stroke. Thus, he is accustomed to such pressure.

Although unexpected, Fitzpatrick’s mistake allowed Young to win without having to go through the playoff rounds. The Englishman later said that he felt he hit a good drive, but once out of position, it becomes challenging to finish on par at TPC Sawgrass. Young realized the 2023 RBC Heritage winner’s mistake when he saw that his putt shot didn’t turn towards the hole.

Fitzpatrick made that mistake and accepted the loss. But one lingering question that remains is whether the partisan treatment at the Players Championship affected his shot.

Matt Fitzpatrick’s blunt question to Cameron Young after the partisan treatment

On the 18th fairway on Sunday, March 15, 2026, the crowd at TPC Sawgrass grew very loud. They were clearly favoring Cameron Young over Fitzpatrick. That’s when the Englishman asked a blunt question to the American professional.

“Do you hate me too?” Fitzpatrick asked the American pro.

When discussing this with Brandel Chamblee, Young said that the question surprised him. Replying to that, he said that the two play on the same TGL team and are friends. Both of them play for New York GC in TGL.

The intensity of the partisan was such that Young was shocked, too. One could only wonder if it was this that got into Matt Fitzpatrick, who ended up making the blunder after all.