Cameron Young won The Players Championship on Sunday and it wasn't supposed to go that way.
Ludvig Åberg walked into Sunday with a three-shot lead. He'd shot 63 in round two — not a misprint — and looked like a man who'd decided to win the richest event in golf ($25 million purse, $4.5 million to the winner, since you asked) without much drama. Then he made water twice on the back nine and shot 76. He finished T5.
Young shot 68. Fitzpatrick shot 68. One of them bogeyed 18. The other one didn't.
Fitzpatrick bogeyed 18.
That's the Players Championship. You get one.
The number that matters: Young finished at -13. Fitzpatrick at -12. One shot. Over 72 holes at 7,352 yards of Pete Dye sadism, that's how thin the margin gets.
Åberg's bad day by the numbers: Led by three after 54 holes. Shot +4 on Sunday. Fell from potential winner to T5. Golf is cruel in ways that no other sport quite manages.
The ace you need to see: Chad Ramey, round four, the island-green 17th. Par 3, 137 yards over water with the tournament on the line. If you haven't found the clip yet, that's your assignment for this Monday.
What's next: Valspar Championship this week at Copperhead. Then Houston. Then Masters week is April 9-12 at Augusta. We're three weeks out from the most important golf tournament of the year and the field conversation is about to get very loud.
For the record: Scottie Scheffler finished T22 at -5 after a Saturday 67 that didn't quite save him. Rory McIlroy went even par for the week. Jordan Spieth made the weekend and finished T32. The old guard is lurking.
Three weeks to Augusta. It's about to get interesting.