His expression didn’t show it, but Cameron Young was a bag of nerves as he tried to settle himself over an eight-inch putt to win The Players Championship and there were four-and-a-half million reasons why.
Young only joined the PGA Tour in 2022, but had already amassed almost $27 million in career earnings, but this was going to be the biggest win of his career by a distance and the biggest payout by far.
The New Yorker managed to hold his nerve as all around him were seeming to lose theirs, and after finally shedding the unofficial ‘best player on the PGA Tour without a win’ title at last year’s Wyndham Championship, all doubts on his ability to close have truly been dispelled after the manner in which he tackled the famous final two holes at TPC Sawgrass.
Matt Fitzpatrick looked poised to be the crowd’s villain when he safely found dry land on the island-green 17th with a one-stroke advantage, but he had to settle for $2,225,000 after Young’s late smash and grab, while Ludvig Åberg’s back-nine disintegration ended up costing him over $3.5 million as he fell into a share of fifth alongside Sudarshan Yellamaraju and Jacob Bridgeman.
Yellamaraju, who graduated to the PGA Tour via the 2026 Korn Ferry rankings, had earned $826,881 in his career prior to arriving at TPC Sawgrass, but the tie for fifth sees him more than double that with $925,000 coming his way.
Rory McIlroy and Seamus Power had disappointing weekends, though the former, who managed to get through four rounds without re-aggravating his back issue, will be happier of the two as it will go down as an opportunity missed for Power.
McIlroy collects €72,125, while Power earned $50,750, but the Waterford man actually fell eight places to 91st in the FedEx Cup rankings whereas a strong weekend could’ve gone a long way to securing his status for next season along with providing a strong injection to his bank balance.
At LIV Golf Singapore, Canadian Richard T Lee, a wildcard having earned his way on via LIV Promotions back in January, looked poised to collect the $4 million first prize when he had a 12-footer for victory in the first playoff hole against Bryson DeChambeau.
Minutes later, he was walking off with his head in his hands after missing a two-footer and being forced to settle for the $2,250,000 second prize.
It was DeChambeau’s first LIV victory since 2023 – and his first win anywhere since the 2024 U.S. Open – but the win and the $4 milion cheque takes his total LIV career earnings north of $53 million, meaning he’s averaged over $1 million an event having now made 52 starts on LIV.
The $170,000 Graeme McDowell earned for his week’s work will once again safely cover his bar tab after making a hole-in-one for the second week in succession, while Tom McKibbin finished a shot ahead of his fellow countryman and claimed just over $200,000.
The Players Championship selected payouts
| Position | Player | Score | Earnings |
| 1 | Cameron Young | -13 | $4,500,000 |
| 2 | Matt Fitzpatrick | -12 | $2,225,000 |
| 3 | Xander Schauffele | -11 | $1,725,000 |
| 4 | Robert MacIntyre | -10 | $1,225,000 |
| T5 | Sudarshan Yellamaraju | -9 | $925,000 |
| T5 | Jacob Bridgeman | -9 | $925,000 |
| T5 | Ludvig Aberg | -9 | $925,000 |
| T8 | Tommy Fleetwood | -8 | $731,250 |
| T8 | Sepp Straka | -8 | $731,250 |
| T8 | Justin Thomas | -8 | $731,250 |
| T46 | Rory McIlroy | E | $72,125 |
| T70 | Seamus Power | 8 | $50,750 |
Aramco LIV Golf Singapore selected payouts
| Position | Player | Score | Earnings |
| 1 | Bryson DeChambeau | -14 | $4,000,000 |
| 2 | Richard T. Lee | -14 | $2,250,000 |
| 3 | Lee Westwood | -12 | $1,500,000 |
| 4 | Joaquin Niemann | -11 | $1,000,000 |
| 5 | Jon Rahm | -10 | $800,000 |
| T6 | Thomas Pieters | -9 | $650,000 |
| T6 | Jose Luis Ballester | -9 | $650,000 |
| T8 | Cameron Smith | -8 | $487,500 |
| T8 | Matthew Wolff | -8 | $487,500 |
| T21 | Tom McKibbin | -4 | $204,285 |
| T28 | Graeme McDowell | -3 | $170,000 |
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