A few hours earlier, after he completed his reign as The Players Championship’s defending champion, Rory McIlroy was asked about past and future Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Aberg, who was about to start his final round with a three-shot lead.
“Once he gets over the ball, he’s really decisive,” Rory said.
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Aberg stands over the ball and hits it. Doesn’t overthink it. Doesn’t have the waggles. Doesn’t back off.
Turns out, that admired decisiveness can also be a detriment in big moments of a big tournament, in moments when the round is on the cusp of disaster.
Aberg should have taken a beat on the 12th tee after bogeying No. 11 due to a second shot that found the water. Should have put his ball on the tee and stepped back to reset. Should have done anything except quickly attempt to correct the wrong of a few swings before.
What happened next cost him a chance at the biggest win of his young career.
Aberg, who led by two shots with nine holes remaining on Sunday, March 15, at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course, hooked a driver into the water. Double bogey. Ouch.
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From solo leader to a tie for fifth place with a four-over 76, the worst final-round score among the top 23 finishers. Aberg finished the week at 9-under, four shots back of champion Cameron Young.
“I imagine I’ll look at those swings on 11 and 12 and they were probably quick swings,” said Aberg, who resides in the Jacksonville area. “Looking back, that’s something I should have been aware of.”
The next time, which with Aberg’s terrific game could be in his next PGA Tour start or at next month’s Masters, he will have the awareness to slow down.
But this time, the mistakes began to stack up and Aberg couldn’t recover.
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“For sure, it got away from me,” he would say.
’Really disappointed’ with result
What a missed opportunity for Aberg, who was in the lead from halfway through his second round on March 13 to his 12th hole of the final round.
“Obviously, really disappointed,” Aberg said, quickly glancing at the television monitor showing Young’s interview on the 18th green. “I would love to be where Cam is right now.”
Aberg escaped the rough and the sand on No. 2 to birdie (up to 14-under), gave a shot back at No. 4 with his first errant 7-wood and made five straight pars to close the front nine with a 36.
“I felt like I was striking it OK early on,” Aberg said. “I got away with a few things, especially No. 4 and the left miss.”
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But that’s The Players. It won’t be pretty. It’s about survival.
The Tour rolled out the “March is going to be major,” commercial last month and this certainly had a major-type feel during the final round. The pressure was ratcheted up and the course difficult.
Aberg was managing it well enough through the first 10 holes. Nothing great (just the one birdie). But nothing train wreck-like, either (just the one bogey).
A both 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., he led Matt Fitzpatrick and Michael Thorbjornsen by three shots.
A both 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., he led Fitzpatrick by two shots.
At 4 p.m., he led Fitzpatrick, Young and Robert McIntyre by two shots.
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But then 4:20 p.m. happened and all hell broke loose for Aberg.
The errant second shot on No. 11 into the water? Hey, that’s golf. Take the medicine (a bogey) and move on. Aberg wasn’t the only contender who found the water or made crippling mistakes. Thorbjornsen fell out of the hunt with a quadruple bogey on No. 4. Jacob Bridgeman hit two balls in the water. McIntyre found the water on 16. Sepp Straka made two double bogeys in the final five holes.
At 4:32 p.m., after the bogey, Aberg was tied for the lead with Fitzpatrick at 12-under. And …
“I tried to press a little bit on 12 and hit driver,” Aberg said.
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Bad decision and bad shot. Water again.
At 4:39 p.m., after the double bogey, Aberg was tied for fourth.
Ballgame.
Down the stretch, Aberg couldn’t threaten the leaders. He parred Nos. 13-14 and Nos. 16-18 sandwiching a bogey at No. 15.
“The back nine was not good,” Aberg said. “But that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Great weekend for community
Aberg’s struggles robbed The Players of a unique visual event.
For the first time, spectators were going to be allowed to enter the fairway to follow the final group up to the 18th green. It would have been a made-for-television event. Instead, as Aberg and Thorbjornsen (77) finished their round, Young was getting ready for the trophy presentation.
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But what an event this was again for our community. Sold-out crowds created a madhouse on No. 17, the pathway to No. 18 and the final tee box. But get away from that bottleneck of mayhem and there were terrific places to get so close to the action where you could hear the player-caddy interaction about club selection. Kids could line the ropes for low-fives from the players
The weather was incredible, warm enough to be comfortable, but not so hot that it was insufferable. You know you visited Taco Lu on No. 12 (twice for me), visited the Fan Zone behind 16 (twice for me) and set up shop on 17 to see who could make birdies (late in the third round for me).
The Players may not be recognized as a major, but the quality of the field, the shot-making and the atmosphere make it better than The PGA Championship for sure. In time, once Brian Rolapp, who will be installed as commissioner in 2027, finds his footing and gets issues like the schedule figured out, then he should do what it takes to make this officially the fifth major.
When The Players does become the fifth major, Aberg will be around for it, the same with major championships, Ryder Cups and FedEx Playoffs. He’s that good. He didn’t show it in the fourth round, but he has the chops to win these types of events.
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“Overall, I still felt like saw some nice things in my game this week,” Aberg said. “Hopefully, I’ll do a little better the next time.”
Count on Ludvig Aberg doing more than a little better the next time he’s in contention.
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Quick swing on 12 equaled quick collapse for Aberg
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