ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Ludvig Åberg added to his astonishing second half of the yr when he closed with a second straight 9-under 61 on Sunday to win the RSM Traditional, his first PGA Tour title to associate with a European tour victory and a profitable debut within the Ryder Cup.
And to suppose the 24-year-old Swede was nonetheless at Texas Tech six months in the past.
“Past my goals,” Aberg stated. “It has been six months I will always remember.”
Not solely did he win the ultimate occasion of the PGA Tour season, however he did it in report vogue. His ultimate birdie allowed Aberg to tie the 72-hole scoring report on the PGA Tour, matching the 253 of Justin Thomas on the 2017 Sony Open.
His 61-61 end set the tour report for lowest closing 36 holes, beating by 1 the mark shared by Matt Jones at Kapalua in 2022 and Patrick Rodgers at Sea Island in 2019.
“The sky is the restrict,” stated Mackenzie Hughes, who gave Aberg a spirited battle with a 63 and could not sustain. “He is acquired the entire package deal. Obtained an excellent demeanor, does not get too up or down. I am certain we will see loads of him for the subsequent few years.”
Aberg seized management with three straight birdies, one in every of them when he fearlessly drove over the marsh on the 407-yard fifth gap to 30 toes, after which held off Hughes, a hard-luck sufferer. Hughes shot 60-63 on the weekend and completed 4 photographs behind.
Even after making his solely bogey of the week, on the twelfth gap of the Seaside course at Sea Island, Aberg answered each problem.
He was 2 photographs forward when Hughes hit a nifty pitch to tap-in vary for birdie on the fifteenth. Aberg was in the midst of a deep bunker with a good pin and splashed that out to 4 toes for an identical birdie.
He all however clinched it with a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventeenth, and for good measure he rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on the finish to place his title within the report e-book.
Aberg gave a quick, sweeping fist pump when the final birdie putt fell, a uncommon show of emotion. He stated he considers being in competition a privilege, and he appears to be like the half with a candy smile and a killer intuition.
“That is what you dream of as a child,” Aberg stated. “That is the game I really like and am going to like for a very long time. Should you informed me this a few months in the past, I’d not consider you. To be on this place, I have to pinch myself within the arm.”
It was the shot on the par-4 fifth, which bends arduous to the fitting across the marsh, that caught with Hughes.
“He is type of the modern-day participant. I imply, No. 5 might be the prime instance of that,” Hughes stated. “I am taking part in left of that bunker and he flies it on the inexperienced and two-putts for birdie. So, tremendous spectacular shot to not solely hit it lengthy however to hit that straight.”
Aberg was assured of a PGA Tour card for 2024 because the No. 1 participant from the PGA Tour College rating after his senior yr at Texas Tech.
Within the 14 tournaments he has performed since June — three on the European tour — he has received on the PGA Tour and has three different top-10s, together with a playoff loss. He did not end worse than a tie for tenth on the European tour, profitable the European Masters in Switzerland to all however seal his spot on the Ryder Cup workforce.
Aberg and Viktor Hovland teamed at Marco Simone for a 9-and-7 foursomes win over Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka, a Ryder Cup report for margin of victory.
The victory at Sea Island strikes him to No. 32 on this planet. He earned a spot on the Masters, together with a spot at Kapalua in The Sentry to begin the yr. He additionally would look like a shoo-in for PGA Tour rookie of the yr. The opposite prime candidate, Eric Cole, performed within the ultimate group with Aberg and shot 67 to tie for third with Tyler Duncan (65).
“When he was taking part in in addition to he was, it’ll be arduous to catch him,” Cole stated.
Aberg completed at 29-under 253, breaking by 7 photographs the event report because it moved to 2 programs, the par-72 Plantation and the par-70 Seaside.
Ryan Moore picked up a considerable comfort prize. He birdied the seventeenth and closed with a 65 to tie for eighth, simply sufficient for him to complete within the prime 125 within the FedEx Cup and preserve his full card for 2024. He stated the nerves had been “near what I felt attempting to win a golf event coming down the stretch.”
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