Written by Staff
Ludvig Åberg added a Signature piece of hardware to his sterling PGA TOUR career Sunday, outlasting a slew of contenders to win The Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines. Åberg, now a two-time TOUR winner, birdied four of his last six holes to come from behind and outlast Maverick McNealy by one shot. Åberg sank a 7-foot birdie on the 18th to break the tie and emerge a victor at Tiger Woods’ tournament. Scottie Scheffler finished in a tie for third with Patrick Rodgers, three back of Åberg. It was a full-circle moment for the young Swede, who shared the 36-hole lead at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance Open three weeks ago but struggled to even finish the weekend as he dealt with an illness that caused him to lose 8 pounds. “I sort of felt like I wasn’t really myself, wasn’t feeling great, wasn’t swinging great, sort of struggled a bit at home last week with how I was playing,” Åberg said. “(It) was nice to come here sort of starting to feel like myself again and physically getting there. It means a lot.” Åberg was down by four shots when he walked off the 12th hole Sunday, and admitted he was tracking McNealy’s lead on the leaderboard. But Åberg hit the 592-yard par-5 13th in two shots and two-putted for an easy birdie. Åberg holed a 6-foot birdie on the 14th and a 26-footer on the 15th before adding the closing, decisive birdie on the 18th. Åberg is the latest European winner on TOUR this season, joining Sepp Straka, Rory McIlroy and Thomas Detry.
The PGA TOUR returns to Mexico this week for the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, the final event before the TOUR heads toward the East Coast. An eclectic field – which features several of Latin America’s rising talent – is led by defending champion Jake Knapp, TOUR winners Akshay Bhatia and Joel Dahmen, and 17-year-old Blades Brown, who’s playing on a sponsor exemption for his third PGA TOUR start. The Mexico Open is one of the last opportunities for players to earn spots in the next Signature Event – the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard – via the Aon Next 10 and Aon Swing 5. Hosted at VidantaWorld in Vallarta, Mexico, the Mexico Open offers 500 FedExCup points to the winner, providing another opportunity for rising stars to shine similar to last year’s edition where Knapp earned his breakthrough TOUR title.
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“I actually hit the shot I wanted to as well, which is nice when it goes in. Hit a little cut pitching wedge up in the wind and landed behind it and came back. It was a really cool moment. I’ve never made a hole-in-one in tournament play before, so it was a first for sure.” – Ludvig Åberg after making an ace on No. 3 during the third round of The Genesis Invitational
1 – Justin Leonard secured his first career PGA TOUR Champions title Sunday at the Chubb Classic. The 52-year-old Leonard carded five birdies over his last seven holes to finish at 15-under for the tournament and secure a four-shot win over Billy Andrade.
