[Photo: Richard Heathcote]
Cameron Young is known for a few things. His swing, his power, his beard and, perhaps most tellingly, his poker face inside the ropes. But even the 28-year-old had to smile after arguably the best shot of his life on TPC Sawgrass’ 18th tee yesterday at the Players Championship.
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After launching a 343-metre (375-yard) missile down the fairway, the co-leader said something to his caddie, Kyle Sterbinsky, and then smiled. Yes, Cameron Young.
And it’s easy to see why he would smile in that situation.
“My thought process over that ball is, 1) making sure that I’m committed to my line, and 2) the overarching thought is I’m going to hit the best shot of my life right here.”
In the biggest moment of his career, tied for the lead at the Players, on the 72nd hole, Young told himself not that he needed to hit the best shot of his life, that he was going to hit the best shot of his life. Afterward, he acknowledged it’s not the usual thought that runs through his mind, but that it was prescient.
“I don’t know if I can think of one that’s better,” he told the media after the round.
Photo: James Gilbert
So how good was the drive?
Since 2004, when the PGA Tour started using ShotLink to track every shot in every event, there have been nearly 9,500 tee shots registered on the 18th tee at TPC Sawgrass. Young’s drive was officially the longest ever recorded.
His ball carried 330 yards in the air and rolled out, coming to rest 375 yards on the right side of the fairway.
Now Young is known as one of the most powerful players on the PGA Tour, especially off the tee, but even for him, this was long.
The Players was Young’s sixth start of the season. The win was his third straight top-10 finish as he continues the form he finished the 2025 season in. His drive on the 72nd hole at Sawgrass was, however, the longest shot he’s registered on tour this season. He has hit 336 tee shots (i.e. non-par 3s) and while hitting five tee shots more than 350 yards, his final tee shot was his longest drive of the season by eight yards.
But length is just one, admittedly flashy, aspect of the shot.
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What made it in Young’s words, “the best shot” of his life was the situation and the result. Not only did he hit a 375-yard drive, he hit the fairway and did it while tied for the lead on the final hole of the biggest event of his career.
Matt Fitzpatrick, playing alongside Young and tied with him for the lead on the tee, hit his tee shot 352 yards but missed the fairway. His ball raced into the pinestraw right of the fairway and forced him to lay up short of the green. Unable to get up and down, his bogey ultimately cost him the shot that could have put him in a playoff.
Photo: Ben Jared
By comparison, not only was Young’s tee shot long, it was also straight. Less than half the field (45.2 percent) found the fairway on the 18th hole on the final day. It was the second hardest fairway to hit on the course, behind only the fifth hole (41.1 percent).
Young could have taken less than driver, prioritising hitting the fairway, and still had pitching wedge or similar into the green. Instead, he chose to go all-in and go for the win. His tee shot was more than 88 yards longer than the average driving distance for the field on the 18th hole all week.
So Young not only gained distance on the field, he gained shots. Young’s tee shot gained 0.39 shots off-the-tee. By far, his best tee shot of the week at Sawgrass.
In fact, he has hit only two tee shots all season that have gained more than 0.39 shots. However, both had factors that slightly skew their value.
First, was his tee shot on the par-5 sixth hole at Bay Hill in the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this month. Hitting across the vast lake, Young carried his tee shot 325 yards, narrowly avoiding the water and finding the fairway. It gained 0.44 shots. However, it was early in the opening round of a tournament, not on the 72nd tee, tied for the lead.
The second tee shot came at last month’s WM Phoenix Open, when Young drove the green at the short par-4 17th hole. His tee shot finished 24 feet from the hole, 15 feet closer than any other shots hit off the tee during the third round. His drive gained 0.79 shots. He two putted for birdie but was never in contention that week.
Statistically, Young’s tee shot at Sawgrass may only be valued as his third best tee shot of the season but it’s worth remembering that strokes gained doesn’t account for the situation. It’s fair to say that with everything in play as he stood on the 18th tee on Sunday, his tee shot there possibly was “the best shot” of his life.
Photo: Ben Jared