GOLF.AI • Mar 15, 2026

Young's TPC Sawgrass Rollercoaster

No two holes in golf offer a more dramatic spectrum of emotion than the 17th and 18th at TPC Sawgrass, and no one experienced that emotional whiplash on Saturday quite like Cameron Young.

On the iconic par-3 17th, Young faced the nerve-wracking tee shot to the island green and produced a moment of near-perfection. His wedge shot landed and settled just a foot from the cup for a tap-in birdie. The ecstasy, however, was short-lived. His brilliance on 17 was hilariously downplayed by Young himself, who admitted a bit of luck was involved. 'I was trying to land it 133 and I fatted it just a little bit and it went to a foot,' he said, adding a layer of humility to the stunning result.

Stepping to the 18th tee, momentum was firmly on his side. But Sawgrass is a fickle beast. Young hooked his drive into the water hazard lining the left side of the fairway, leading to a costly double bogey. The two-hole stretch, from birdie to double bogey, was a perfect microcosm of the pressure awaiting every contender on Sunday.

The disastrous finish knocked Young out of the final pairing, shifting his strategy from a direct pursuer to a chaser. Yet, he found a way to reframe the negative, focusing on the mental grind of damage control. 'I cost myself two off the tee and I saved myself one with the putter,' Young reflected. 'Saved myself one with the putter is what I'm going to take away from it.' That mentality will be crucial as he heads into the final round, trying to overcome the memory of 18.