Ludvig Åberg did enough Saturday at TPC Sawgrass to stretch his cushion, even if the closing stretch left him looking at the scoreboard and thinking about what could have been.
Åberg shot a 1 under 71 in the third round of The Players Championship and will take a three shot lead into Sunday’s final round at 13 under 203. The round included his third eagle of the week, an 18 foot eagle putt on the par 5 11th, and it kept him in front despite a finish that stalled out on the course’s closing trio.
Åberg arrived at the par 5 16th holding a four shot lead over Michael Thorbjornsen and had several chances to widen the gap. He was in the fairway on 16 with 193 yards remaining and a 7 iron in hand, then had an 8 foot birdie look on the island green 17th, and followed with a strong drive on 18 that left a 25 foot birdie attempt. The sequence ended in par, par, bogey.
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“Definitely would have loved to come out of 16 and 17 with at least one birdie, and then obviously the three putt on 18 kind of stings, annoys me a little bit,” Åberg said. “But overall, I started the day with a two shot lead and ended with a three, so that’s a positive.”
Åberg described the course in terms that match Sawgrass’ reputation for punishing small mistakes.
“It’s all about executing,” Åberg said. “You’re going to get punished if you don’t, which is a fun way to play golf.”
His next question was immediate.
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Fun?
Åberg smiled and mouthed the word, “Fun.”
Thorbjornsen, who also lives in the Ponte Vedra Beach area, posted a 67 to move into the final group and cut the margin to three. The two have known each other from elite amateur and college circles, and both were No. 1 in the PGA Tour University ranking in consecutive years to earn PGA Tour cards.
“I don’t think I have to change too much, especially on courses like this,” Thorbjornsen said. “I think if you play some really steady golf you’ll run into some birdies. Does anyone have a bogey free round either yesterday or today? I’m not too sure, but there aren’t many. So I think slow and steady wins the race, and we’re just going to play some solid golf.”
Cameron Young briefly applied pressure on the back nine, highlighted by a 45 foot birdie on the par 3 13th and a fortunate result on the par 3 17th when a wedge he hit heavy finished inside 2 feet. “I was trying to land it 133 and I fatted it just a little bit and it went to a foot,” Young said.
Young began the 18th two shots behind, but the closing hole bit back. His drive found the water down the left side, and a sequence that included a pushed third shot into rough covered moguls and a chip that ran through the green into a bunker ended with a double bogey. Young holed an 8 foot putt to limit the damage and signed for a 72, leaving him four shots behind Åberg. “I cost myself two off the tee and I saved myself one with the putter,” Young said.
Elsewhere, mistakes were the story for several contenders. Justin Thomas made a triple bogey on the sixth after a chain of trouble that started with water, and his tee shot on the reachable par 4 12th also found water. He steadied himself late, added two birdies, and finished with a 72.
Thomas is at 8 under 208, five back, alongside Matt Fitzpatrick (69), Brian Harman (69), Viktor Hovland (69), Corey Conners (72), and Xander Schauffele (74). Schauffele, who played in the final group Saturday, made only one birdie and hit eight greens. Fitzpatrick doubled 18 with a three putt from 35 feet.
The final round setup is straightforward: Åberg leads, but Sawgrass rarely offers a quiet Sunday. As Young put it, the scores are available for anyone who can avoid the penalties long enough to cash in.
“Those number are out there, and no reason why I can’t be the one to shoot them,” Young said.
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