Cameron Young trailed by four going into Sunday at TPC Sawgrass. He birdied the Island Green, bombed a 375-yard drive on 18, and watched Matt Fitzpatrick miss an 8-footer for par. That's how you win the biggest tournament of your life.
IN THIS ISSUE
Cameron Young Took the Aggressive Line. Fitzpatrick Didn't.
DeChambeau Wins on a 2-Foot Miss. Nobody Feels Great About It.
Rolapp's Vision: Fewer Events, Relegation, and Zero LIV Talk
Ping's New Irons Want to Launch It Higher. PXG Wants Your Wedge Money.
Tobacco Road Gets a Par-3. Candyroot Is Coming. The Cradle Starts Knockouts.
PGA TOUR . THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Cameron Young Took the Aggressive Line. Fitzpatrick Didn't.
Cameron Young won THE PLAYERS Championship by one stroke over Matt Fitzpatrick, finishing at 13-under after a blistering final round that included a near-ace on 13 and an electric birdie on the island-green 17th to tie for the lead. He's been knocking on every door on Tour for two years. Runner-up finishes. Close calls. The talent was never the question. The question was whether he could close.
He closed. At TPC Sawgrass. In the Tour's flagship event. Åberg led by three entering Sunday and couldn't hold it, finishing T5 alongside Jacob Bridgeman. Xander Schauffele posted a solid 11-under for solo third after a gutsy final-round charge, but the day belonged to Young.
375-yard drive on 18. Bogey-free back nine. $4.5 million. The guy with seven career runner-ups just won the Tour's crown jewel.
From the 1,000th PGA Tour winner in history at Greensboro to Players champion six months later. The trajectory is vertical.
LIV GOLF . SINGAPORE
DeChambeau Wins on a 2-Foot Miss. Nobody Feels Great About It.
Bryson DeChambeau won LIV Golf Singapore in a playoff when Richard T. Lee, a Wild Card player trying to become the first unaffiliated winner in league history, missed a 2-foot par putt. DeChambeau had already hit his tee shot into the water on the playoff hole and was scrambling for par. Lee jabbed at it with too much adrenaline, and it lipped out hard left. It's DeChambeau's first 72-hole stroke play win since the 2024 U.S. Open and his fourth LIV title. He was honest afterward: "You never want to win that way."
ALSO THIS WEEK
Rolapp Floats Promotion, Relegation, Match Play Postseason — PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp outlined six themes for the Tour's future, including doubling Signature Events, 120-player fields, a late-January-to-September season, and a relegation system inspired by English football.
Mi Hyang Lee Ends 8-Year LPGA Drought at Blue Bay — Mi Hyang Lee nearly blew a three-shot lead with a front-nine 40 but rallied for a one-stroke victory at the Blue Bay LPGA, her first win since 2017 after returning from shoulder surgery just six weeks ago.
Returning Member Program Stays One-Time Only — Rolapp confirmed the Koepka pathway was a one-time situational program and won't be expanded for other LIV players.
PGA Tour Debuts AI-Powered Camera Coverage — The Tour tested AI-driven automated video production on the par-3 holes at TPC Sawgrass, aiming to capture every shot on every hole by next year.
LOOKING AHEAD
Valspar Championship at Innisbrook
The Tour stays in Florida for the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course. It's a tight, demanding layout that rewards shot-shaping and scrambling over raw power. Names to watch: Cameron Young (riding the biggest win of his life), Matt Fitzpatrick (nearly won THE PLAYERS, will be hungry), and Justin Thomas (quietly posted T8 at Sawgrass and looks healthy again).
Ping i540: Distance Iron, Player's Looks
Ping's i540 is the new players' distance iron, and the big move is a patent-pending InR-Air insert that uses an air pocket behind the face to improve sound and feel without adding weight. That freed-up mass goes to tungsten in the sole (4-7 irons) for a lower CG, higher launch, and more stopping power. It looks like an i240 at address but plays like a distance iron. At $214 per club (steel) it's not cheap, but it fills the gap for players who want to hit it farther without gaming a chunky head. Pre-order now, retail March 26.
PXG Stick'em Wedges: $199, Triple-Forged, Two Grinds
PXG dropped the Stick'em Forged wedges this week. Triple-forged 8620 carbon steel, high-toe weighting for open-face stability, and wider groove spacing for spin consistency. Available 50-60 degrees in two sole options: the S-Grind (10 degrees, versatile) and BP-Grind (13 degrees, fuller sole for sand and soft turf). At $199 (chrome) or $219 (dark finish), they're priced below the Vokey SM11s we covered last edition. Worth a demo if your current wedges are three-plus years old.
ALSO THIS WEEK
Garmin Approach G82: GPS and Launch Monitor in One — Garmin's Approach G82 combines a 5-inch touchscreen GPS with a radar-based launch monitor for $600, covering 43,000 courses worldwide.
Srixon Q-Star Ultispeed: Budget Distance Ball at $29/Dozen — Golf Monthly found the Q-Star Ultispeed Trackline edged out the TaylorMade Tour Response on ball speed while costing $6 less per dozen — a legitimate option for players who prioritize distance over greenside spin.
Tobacco Road Is Building a 12-Hole Short Course
This is the biggest local golf news in months. Tobacco Road Golf Club near Sanford is adding "The Matchbox," a 12-hole par-3 course near the 12th and 13th holes of the Mike Strantz original. Mark White, one of the original shapers of Tobacco Road, is handling construction, and synthetic turf will keep conditions consistent under the tree canopy. Carlton/Marshall Golf Design has the plans. The course could open as early as August. If you've played the Cradle at Pinehurst and wondered why there isn't something like it closer to the Triangle, this is your answer. Rates and availability coming this spring.
Candyroot Lodge: Public Golf Coming to the Carolina Sandhills
If you've been jealous watching Old Barnwell and Broomsedge get all the new-course buzz in South Carolina, this one's for you. Candyroot Lodge is a 1,200-acre public golf destination going up in the Carolina sandhills, roughly an hour from both Charlotte and Columbia. The first 18, designed by Mike Koprowski (who did Broomsedge), opens for preview play later this year with a grand opening in spring 2027. The master plan calls for four championship courses plus a lit par-3 course, lodging, and wellness amenities. Koprowski says the land is doing most of the work: small greens, minimal bunkering, native grasses creating the strategy. This is shaping up to be the region's most significant public golf opening in years.
Pinehurst Launches the Cradle Knockout Series
Pinehurst Resort kicked off a new monthly event on the Cradle: the Cradle Knockout Series. Seventy-two players, $10 buy-in, closest-to-the-pin elimination format across three rounds, with the shot playing about 140 yards downhill to the first green. Monthly qualifiers advance to a November championship. Half the pot goes to the winner, half to local charity. Shoes optional, apparently.
ALSO THIS WEEK
ACC Women's Golf Championship One Month Out — The 2026 ACC Women's Golf Championship is set for April 16-19 at Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington, with semifinal and final rounds streaming live on ACC Network Extra.
City of Oaks Collegiate March 22-24 — Boston College and NC State will host the City of Oaks Collegiate in Raleigh next weekend — a good chance to watch top college women's golf locally.
That's your read this week.
Tour intel, gear picks, and local course intel — every Monday.
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