Cameron Young has risen all the way to No. 3 in the world. Now the 28-year-old Wake Forest product would like nothing better than to join fellow Demon Deacon Arnold Palmer as a Masters champion.
Young’s first win came at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro last summer and he was one of the top performers on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. This spring he was third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the next week won The Players Championship, the biggest victory of his career.
A green jacket could be next.
“It’s certainly a confidence boost,” Young said. “It’s more validation that when I play well, I can put myself in those situations. That final round at the Players was a good example of, if you can keep yourself in it, things like that can happen, especially around challenging golf courses, big-time events.”
Young has played in four Masters; he missed the cut twice (including last year) but finished in the top 10 on the other two occasions. He tied for seventh in 2023.
“There’s always some learning and some figuring out what you need to do over the first few days,” Young said. “The main battle is just finding a way to give yourself the most opportunities to hit greens, have putts for birdie, and minimize some of the big mistakes.”
Masters players due for a breakthrough
Tommy Fleetwood: The jovial Englishman took a giant step forward last fall when he won the Tour Championship at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club. Fleetwood, 35, is ranked No. 4 in the world and has continued to build on that momentum from his first career PGA Tour victory.
This season he’s played five events and posted four top-10 finishes, including a tie for eighth at the Players. He tied for 10th last week at the Valero Texas Open.
Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta was a tie for third in 2024, but it wasn’t like he was in the mix.
“I was very much on the outskirts,” he said. “Scottie (Scheffler) was a long way in front. I was never really in contention. I was having a great week and I wanted to finish as strong as I could.”
Matt Fitzpatrick: The 31-year-old Englishman won the U.S. Open in 2022, but he has not fared well at Augusta. His best showings at the Masters were a tie for seventh in 2016, his first tournament here as a professional, and a tie for 10th in 2023.
Fitzpatrick finished strong in 2025 with a win in Dubai and stellar showing at the Ryder Cup. This spring he’s finished second at the Players Championship and won the Valspar Championship in his tuneup for the Masters. He is ranked No. 6 in the world.
“I would say it’s definitely the most confident I’ve been,” Fitzpatrick said. “This is definitely the best form I’ve been coming into this tournament. Just kind of trying to roll with it and enjoy that.”
Chris Gotterup: The 26-year-old Oklahoma graduate is bucking the odds. This is his first Masters and the last time a first-year player won the green jacket was the late Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. But Gotterup has already won four PGA Tour events before his Augusta National debut, a boast only two other first-time Masters participants can make.
Gotterup is ranked No. 11 in the world and has won twice this year, the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Phoenix Open in a playoff. He tied for sixth two weeks ago at the Houston Open.
“At some point I had hoped to be here and play in the Masters,” Gotterup said. “But to be here with four wins, I probably wouldn’t have believed it, It’s been a fun ride the last year or so. Hopefully (I’ll) keep it going.”
Robert MacIntyre: The 29-year-old left-hander is trying to join Sandy Lyle (1988) as the second Scot to win the Masters. He set the tone last year by winning the Canadian Open and Scottish Open and finished second in the U.S. Open. He has continued his fine form this season, placing fourth at The Players Championship and tying for second at the Valero Texas Open two weeks ago.
MacIntyre missed the cut at the Masters last year. His best showing in three starts at Augusta National is a tie for 12th in 2021.
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