Shedding himself of expectations, Cameron Young meets the moment with dramatic Players Championship win

When Cameron Young won his first PGA Tour title at the Wyndham Championship last summer, he became the 1,000th unique winner in the circuit's history during his fourth season as a card-carrying member. That victory three years after he burst onto the scene with a rookie season that created significant expectations, it was fair to wonder whether Young would have been better served by being less successful as a neophyte.

At first glance, it's a ludicrous quandary (no, not the rapper who kicked off the festivities at TPC Sawgrass over the weekend). Young's 2022 rookie campaign was among the most memorable in recent years. The powerful right-hander compiled seven podium finishes and earned Rookie of the Year honors.

He fell a couple of strokes shy at Riviera, one outside of the playoff between Will Zalatoris and Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship and one short of Cameron Smith at the 150th Open at St. Andrews. Young was a member of the winning U.S. Presidents Cup team at Quail Hollow that fall, too.

The close calls were supposed to serve as learning experiences -- enough of those, and surely, the trophies would start to fall into his hands.

Instead, Young learned that close calls come with more than just that. 

They come with heartache. They come with bad memories. And in Young's case, they came with expectations that he would turn into a consistent major champion contender and a perennial winner on the PGA Tour.

Expectations come from a variety of sources -- media, peers, fans, family and friends -- but the only expectations that matter are those that originate internally. The man in the mirror is the ultimate judge.

Young noted earlier in the week that expectations had gotten the better of him in his career, calling those he placed on himself at one point "wildly unreasonable."

Not until recently did Young decide to turn over a new leaf. He has grounded himself, stayed present in the moment, rid himself of any substantial goals and decided to just go out and play golf.

By shedding himself of his own expectations and shattering that mirror, Young was able to live up to them on Sunday with his dramatic victory over Matt Fitzpatrick at the 2026 Players Championship. And in doing so, he proved those original expectations were justified.

"I think I'm just generally pretty hard on myself, and I think a lot of people that are good at what they do expect a lot of themselves," Young said. "So, I think that while it might not be the best thing for performing at your highest level, those expectations are also something that drives you to be good. 

"I kind of am starting to learn to maybe let go of them a little bit and kind of just focus on where my feet are. But at the same time, expecting a lot from myself in terms of preparation and commitment to my golf shots and commitment to my thought process. I think shifting where you have high expectations is for me, maybe, a more effective way to go about it."

Entering Sunday's final round, expectations were that 36- and 54-hole leader Ludvig Åberg would coast through the finish line. Despite Pete Dye's devilish design having trick after trick up its sleeve, the Swedish superstar navigated the front nine at TPC Sawgrass without breaking a sweat.

Åberg -- another player with heavy expectations who appeared to finally be living up to them -- was two hours away from his coronation. When he arrived at the middle of the par-5 11th fairway with a two-stroke advantage over Young and company, he sent his second shot into the water. 

After carding a six and backing up to the field, the robotic right-hander malfunctioned again and sent his tee ball on the short par-4 12th into the drink. An electrical shortage produced a quick swing, and another six was penciled onto his scorecard -- his only two scores of six or higher all week.

Åberg swung the tournament doors wide open. Young and Fitzpatrick were standing at the entrance with room for only one to march on through. An earlier version of Young may have never been in this position to pounce. He had struggled with anger when things had gone awry, notably breaking his driver down the home stretch at the 2024 Rocket Classic, getting in his own way more than once.

"This is kind of new. That's really about the closest I've been to the lead with a couple holes left," Young said. "There's maybe once or twice I've been within one. I wasn't thinking about any of those. ... It is just things I've learned over time and not necessarily from any one of those individual instances of being near the lead. We've made a lot of progress on my attitude and my approach to golf, and I feel like that is where I've improved, and I think what allowed me to stay in it all day today. 

"There was certainly a point during the front nine where I don't know if I was three or four back, and at that point, if you get frustrated and make any decisions that aren't wise, you're going to kick yourself out of the tournament really fast. So, I feel like it's more a matter of what I've learned over the course of the last year or two and not necessarily from those times being around the lead."

As Fitzpatrick found his groove, expectations were that he would become the first Englishman to win the PGA Tour's flagship event. The former U.S. Amateur champion and the U.S. Open winner, who won the DP World Tour Championship this past fall, Fitzpatrick's résumé was that of a worthy Players champion.

With two holes remaining, it appeared that Fitzpatrick would get the job done ... until Young stepped up on the 17th tee. A full 57-degree sand wedge settled inside 10 feet before a birdie putt dripped like molasses over the cup's edge, causing Young to early step his birdie putt to tie for the lead.

The longest drive of the Shotlink era on the par-4 18th at TPC Sawgrass (375 yards) came on his next full swing. Another finessed wedge accessed a tricky back pin location with a 20 mph wind blowing at his back, adding what could only be an uncomfortable feel. A tournament-winning par putt soon followed. The expectations came rushing back.

"This is a hard game, and there's a lot of people that are really good at it," Young said. "I'm not huge on setting goals. I've done it. I don't have like a list for this year or anything. My mind for the second half of last season was East Lake, Ryder Cup. 

"My mind for the first part of this season is preparing for the Masters. So, my goal is to be in contention as much as possible before that. This tournament certainly has a major feel; The Players is an unbelievable event. I feel like, if anything, I mean, it's its best possible prep you could ask for for our first major of the season."

The last two Players champions coincidentally followed by slipping on the green jacket. Those men were none other than Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy -- the top two players in the world, who have shouldered their fair share of expectations over the years.

Young's current form and history at Augusta National (two top 10s in four trips) will inevitably make him a trendy selection the weeks leading up to the first major championship of the season. Expectations will be for him to contend and possibly win, but don't tell Young that because he doesn't have any for himself, and he wouldn't want it any other way.