{"id":526207,"date":"2026-03-16T04:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T04:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/526207\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T04:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T04:17:09","slug":"ludvig-abergs-crowning-moment-crumbles-sunday-at-the-players-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/526207\/","title":{"rendered":"Ludvig \u00c5berg\u2019s Crowning Moment Crumbles Sunday at the Players Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. \u2014 By the time he faced the daunting tee shot on the 18th\u00a0hole at TPC Sawgrass, the celebration was already all but underway. And Ludvig \u00c5berg knew he would not be part of it.<\/p>\n

Getting the ball in play, of course, was still the goal, but the unrelenting nerves he expected to feel when he woke up with a three-shot lead heading into the final round of the Players Championship were gone.<\/p>\n

In a matter of moments earlier on the back nine, the lead he held for most of Saturday and the first 10 holes on Sunday was gone. He went from ahead to behind faster than it took to retrieve not one but two golf balls from his bag.<\/p>\n

Soon, it was Cam Young holding the trophy<\/a> after a birdie at the 17th\u00a0and a 375-yard drive at the 18th\u00a0to hold off Matt Fitzpatrick while \u00c5berg, seemingly immune to the pressure, was fighting for the relative Players Championship scraps.<\/p>\n

MORE: Final results, payouts from the Players Championship<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re always going to feel nerves,\u201d \u00c5berg said after a final-round 76 saw him finish four strokes back of Young. \u201cDefinitely felt nerves this morning, I felt nerves yesterday and I felt nerves on Thursday and Friday as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the main thing for me is I think about winning, but I try not to get ahead of myself when I\u2019m playing golf. I think the front nine we handled quite well. I felt like we handled it to the point where it definitely could have been few shots better here and there. It was just a disappointing back nine, and hopefully I\u2019ll do a little bit better next time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, before \u00c5berg ever teed off, Rory McIlroy was talking about how \u201cunflappable\u201d he believed the Swedish golfer had proven himself to be in his young career.<\/p>\n

He saw it at the Ryder Cup in Rome, where \u00c5berg had a successful experience before ever teeing it up in a major championship. He saw it when \u00c5berg finished second to Scottie Scheffler in his first Masters in 2024.<\/p>\n

\"Ludvig<\/p>\n

Ludvig Aberg finished an impressive second as a Masters rookie in 2024. | Michael Madrid-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

And the world saw how his understated mannerisms suggested a calm demeanor and such a comfortable golf swing. \u00c5berg shot 63 on Friday and appeared so in control. Even with a three-putt bogey on the final green Saturday, he led by three over Michael Thorbjornsen, who had yet to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s so laid-back, like, ridiculously laid-back, which is a really good thing, especially in environments like the Ryder Cup,\u201d McIlroy said of \u00c5berg. \u201cHis pace of play. Once he gets over the ball he\u2019s really decisive. He\u2019s obviously got a beautiful swing. Looks like he plays with a lot of freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00c5berg, who won the Genesis Invitational last year for his second PGA Tour victory (he also has one on the DP World Tour), missed the cut by nine strokes in January at the Farmers Insurance Open. Since then, he\u2019s shown gradual improvement, including a tie for third last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about executing,\u201d he had said Saturday. \u201cYou\u2019re going to get punished if you don\u2019t, which is a fun way to play golf.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t so fun Sunday. \u00c5berg played the first nine holes in even par and watched Thorbjornsen make a mess of the 4th hole to give himself some breathing room.<\/p>\n

He led by two shots over a surging Fitzpatrick when he got to the par-5 11th, a hole he had played in 4 under for the tournament including an eagle on Saturday. After a good drive into the fairway, \u00c5berg saw his tournament unravel with a 7-wood from 233 yards that flared right and didn\u2019t come close to clearing water.<\/p>\n

The resulting bogey coupled with Fitzpatrick\u2019s birdie on the 12th\u00a0saw them tied.<\/p>\n

And then came the short par-4 12th where \u00c5berg missed left into the water.<\/p>\n

Water ball for Ludvig \u00c5berg on 12. <\/p>\n

Now co-leading with Fitzpatrick, this is the first time he hasn’t led since Friday. <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NBC pic.twitter.com\/9WteatEmtz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt got away from me quick there,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was just poor swings. I felt like I\u2019ve had that sort of 7-wood right miss a few times this week, on No. 4 especially twice, and it came up on 11 as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen tried to press a little bit on 12, hitting driver, where sometimes you can play 3-wood a little short of that bunker. Obviously really disappointed. I would have loved to be standing where Cameron is standing right now. But overall I still felt like I saw some nice things in my game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young, who has had his share of disappointments in the game before finally winning his first tournament last year at the Wyndham Championship and a strong U.S. Ryder Cup appearance, came through when it mattered.<\/p>\n

He flushed a sand wedge to 10 feet at the par-3 17th\u00a0hole and cozied in the putt tie for the lead. Then he blasted that 375-yard drive at the 18th\u2014where Fitzpatrick missed the fairway\u2014to set up his winning par.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely exhausting,\u201d Young said. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly taxing. You\u2019re going to make mistakes. It\u2019s a great test. A test of will. A test of patience. And a test of hitting some good shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young passed. \u00c5berg, on this day, struggled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just another experience for a young guy,\u201d said \u00c5berg\u2019s caddie, Joe Skovron, who caddied for Rickie Fowler when he won the 2015 Players Championship. \u201cYou learn from it and apply it the next time. From where he was a few weeks ago to now is excitement. You gotta turn these things into positives. Otherwise it\u2019s just going to eat you up out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s been a good bit of that mashing since the Tour came to Florida a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n

Shane Lowry squandered a three-shot lead with three holes to play at the Cognizant Classic. Daniel Berger led by five strokes with nine to play and by two with three to play last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.<\/p>\n

\u00c5berg led by three to begin the day and by two with eight holes to play. And even Fitzpatrick still had a one-shot advantage with two to play.<\/p>\n

Such leads and feeling of security are fleeting, as \u00c5berg will attest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely felt a little bit fast at times,\u201d he said. \u201cI would imagine if I look at those swings on sort of 11, 12, they probably were quick swings. Takeaway got really fast and then the rest of it kind of spirals from there. That’s something that I should have been aware of, now looking back. But yeah, that’s the way it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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