“Child’s play compared to Ryder Cup” – Fitzpatrick on TPC Sawgrass crowd as Young wins

Matt Fitzpatrick shrugged off crowd jeers as he locked horns with Cameron Young down the closing stretch at The Players Championship, insisting it “was literally child’s play compared to the Ryder Cup.”

The Englishman, who led by one with two holes to play, saw American Young overtake him in dramatic fashion at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday. 

Young, cheered on by a raucous home crowd, birdied the Island Green 17th from 10 feet and then parred the 18th to finish 13-under par, one shot clear of Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick bogeyed the par-4 18th when failing to convert a 12-foot par putt, and that handed Young the $4.5 million first prize — the biggest win of his career and his second PGA Tour title.

The Englishman was heavily booed as he boarded the par-4 18th tee box when tied for the lead with Young, who received motivational chants of 'USA, USA, USA...'. 

“Listen, the crowd, that was literally child’s play compared to Bethpage,” Fitzpatrick said when asked to give his reaction to the crowd jeering he experienced down the closing stretch at TPC Sawgrass.

“If they think that was anything, then they need to reassess. That’s how it is. You just have to focus on your shots.”

Despite finishing one shot shy, Fitzpatrick praised his TGL teammate's composure in getting the job done. 

“I love Cam. He’s such a nice guy, so laid back. Always knew we were going to have a good day today, just obviously both comfortable around each other.”

Fitzpatrick matched Young’s final-round 4-under 68 but narrowly missed out on becoming the first English winner of The Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship event of the season. 

Young, now a two-time PGA Tour winner, is expected to move to a career-best fourth in the world rankings following the biggest win of his career. 

The runner-up finish marked Fitzpatrick’s first top-three result on the PGA Tour since 2023. 

For him, it’s a positive step forward as he looks ahead to the season’s first major at The Masters, from 9–12 April.

“I think the big thing is I believe in my own ability,” Fitzpatrick said. 

“I feel like I’ve been doing a ton of good work with Mark Blackburn and have really seen so many positive signs over the last 12 months.

“I feel like I don’t — I was saying last night to my psychologist — I feel like I’m very good at getting myself into position between 15 and 5. I don’t feel like I get in enough positions between 5 and 1st. If I can do that, obviously it’s easier said than done, then I believe I will win more. I back myself down the stretch, and I feel like if I can do that, then it’ll be good things.”