Matt Fitzpatrick asked Cam Young sad question as PGA Tour fans abused him
The behavior of some spectators at TPC Sawgrass prompted a question from Matt Fitzpatrick to Cam Young as they battled for The Players Championship in a thrilling finale
Matt Fitzpatrick was booed down the stretch at The Players as he narrowly lost out to Cam Young on Sunday, and the Englishman had a telling question for his playing partner on the 72nd hole.
Young was the darling of a partisan crowd at TPC Sawgrass as he battled Fitzpatrick for the PGA Tour’s richest prize, but some fans crossed the line with their behavior.
Fitzpatrick insisted he was not bothered by the noise from the galleries on his way to a bogey at the last, which cost him a chance in a playoff. But he did playfully ask Young amid the drama if he “hated” him too. The 2022 U.S. Open champion was all class after the finale, despite being on the wrong side of the result.
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Young and Fitzpatrick are friends after joining forces on the New York Golf Club TGL team for the past two seasons, and the champion assured his pal that there was no beef despite the atmosphere.
“It’s certainly a positive,” Young said of the crowd’s backing. “Anytime you can take some support from the fans out there, that’s great. It was to the point that Matt looked at me on 18 and said, ‘Cam, do you hate me, too?’
“I was like, ‘No, we’re friends, Matt, we’re on the same TGL team. We’re good.’ But it was very partisan out there, which is surprising, but great to be on the correct side of it.”
Fitzpatrick was in position to take down the $4.5 million tournament, taking a one-shot lead to the iconic par-three 17th, but Young drew level thanks to a sublime tee shot to set up a birdie.
He took the honor to the 18th tee and unleashed a 375-yard missile to the center of the fairway, breaking the tournament record for the longest drive on TPC Sawgrass’ closer.
Fitzpatrick could not match him, shoving his tee shot right of the fairway and into the pine straw. He had an angle to the green, but he conservatively laid up and banked on getting up and down for par.
The 31-year-old had a chance to force a playoff after Young’s birdie putt slipped by, but Fitzpatrick burned the edge from eight feet and the championship slipped away.
Fitzpatrick has been toughened up by chastening involvements in the Ryder Cup, both in victory and defeat, and he made clear that the abuse from the crowd was nothing like what he experienced in the win at Bethpage Black last year.
“Listen, the crowd, that was literally child’s play compared to Bethpage,” he said. “If they think that that was anything, then they need to reassess. Get yourself up to New York.
“Listen, that’s how it is. That’s how it is. I would hope it’s the exact same if – well, it probably wouldn’t be because we’re a little bit more polite in Europe, I would say, but I would hope it would be of similar intensity in Europe. I knew it was coming. I had it with Jordan Spieth in 2023. Yeah, it’s funny to me. I find it hilarious.”
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