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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Ludvig Aberg didn't waste any time moving up the leaderboard Friday at TPC Sawgrass.
The Swede birdied the first hole, added an eagle on the second, then birdied the third and chipped in for another birdie on the fourth. He became only the second player to be 5 under thru 4 holes in Players Championship history, and the brilliant start led to a stellar front-nine 29 (tying the tournament mark) and Aberg signing for 63 in the second round, moving to 12 under on the leaderboard. He heads to the weekend with a two-shot lead over Xander Schauffele.
"I think overall I felt like I was striking it quite nice," Aberg said. "I kind of got away with a few tee balls in the middle of the round where I wasn't hitting the fairways necessarily. But yeah, I think I got away with a few for sure. But overall, I feel like my iron play has been pretty good lately, the last couple weeks. I saw it at Bay Hill as well last week. Super pleased with the way I was hitting it."
Aberg added a second eagle with a chip-in on the ninth hole, helping him turn in 29. He added another birdie on the par-5 11th to move to 11 under and take the solo lead. Aberg's lone blemish in his second round came after a wayward approach shot on the par-4 15th, leaving him a funky stance on a chip that moved only a foot when he hit it. However, he bounced back with birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 and nearly added another on the famous 17th.
"I feel like I've understood a little bit more what's important for me in my golf swing and kind of sticking to that, not necessarily trying to look away other ways around it, and keeping it very simple," Aberg said. "I think my mind is very good when it's simple, and when things are very easy, and that's what I've felt like I've been able to do over the last couple of weeks."
Aberg played in a twosome with Si Woo Kim for 36 holes. The third player in their group, Collin Morikawa, withdrew Thursday after injuring his back while taking a practice swing on their second hole of the first round. For Aberg, arguably the quickest player on the PGA Tour, it was an adjustment to stay patient throughout the first two rounds with waiting before nearly every shot.
"It was a challenge for sure," Aberg said. "I thought, it's no secret that I'm a fast player and I like it fast. Naturally, when you get kind of stuck on a few tee boxes, you kind of get out of your rhythm a little bit. But all I could do was just try to control me, control my routines. It's just kind of the time in between the routines just gets much longer. But yeah, try to keep it loose with Joe, try to have a good time and enjoy it. The weather today was really nice, so it was quite nice."
After a slow start to the year, including a WD due to sickness at the American Express and a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, Aberg has been trending, culminating in a T-3 finish at Bay Hill last week.
Now, the Ponte Vedra Beach resident is 36 holes away from the biggest win of his life. His patience will be a virtue.
"I play here every now and then," Aberg said. "I've seen the golf course in probably every wind possible, which I know this week we're going to have some different winds. Is there an advantage to it? Maybe. But Sawgrass is also a golf course where you have to execute golf shots, and I love the golf course because it's right in front of you. It's very straightforward, but you still have to do it."
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Players 2026: Ludvig Aberg torches TPC Sawgrass, leads after 63
Continue reading...
The Swede birdied the first hole, added an eagle on the second, then birdied the third and chipped in for another birdie on the fourth. He became only the second player to be 5 under thru 4 holes in Players Championship history, and the brilliant start led to a stellar front-nine 29 (tying the tournament mark) and Aberg signing for 63 in the second round, moving to 12 under on the leaderboard. He heads to the weekend with a two-shot lead over Xander Schauffele.
"I think overall I felt like I was striking it quite nice," Aberg said. "I kind of got away with a few tee balls in the middle of the round where I wasn't hitting the fairways necessarily. But yeah, I think I got away with a few for sure. But overall, I feel like my iron play has been pretty good lately, the last couple weeks. I saw it at Bay Hill as well last week. Super pleased with the way I was hitting it."
Aberg added a second eagle with a chip-in on the ninth hole, helping him turn in 29. He added another birdie on the par-5 11th to move to 11 under and take the solo lead. Aberg's lone blemish in his second round came after a wayward approach shot on the par-4 15th, leaving him a funky stance on a chip that moved only a foot when he hit it. However, he bounced back with birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 and nearly added another on the famous 17th.
"I feel like I've understood a little bit more what's important for me in my golf swing and kind of sticking to that, not necessarily trying to look away other ways around it, and keeping it very simple," Aberg said. "I think my mind is very good when it's simple, and when things are very easy, and that's what I've felt like I've been able to do over the last couple of weeks."
Aberg played in a twosome with Si Woo Kim for 36 holes. The third player in their group, Collin Morikawa, withdrew Thursday after injuring his back while taking a practice swing on their second hole of the first round. For Aberg, arguably the quickest player on the PGA Tour, it was an adjustment to stay patient throughout the first two rounds with waiting before nearly every shot.
"It was a challenge for sure," Aberg said. "I thought, it's no secret that I'm a fast player and I like it fast. Naturally, when you get kind of stuck on a few tee boxes, you kind of get out of your rhythm a little bit. But all I could do was just try to control me, control my routines. It's just kind of the time in between the routines just gets much longer. But yeah, try to keep it loose with Joe, try to have a good time and enjoy it. The weather today was really nice, so it was quite nice."
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After a slow start to the year, including a WD due to sickness at the American Express and a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, Aberg has been trending, culminating in a T-3 finish at Bay Hill last week.
Now, the Ponte Vedra Beach resident is 36 holes away from the biggest win of his life. His patience will be a virtue.
"I play here every now and then," Aberg said. "I've seen the golf course in probably every wind possible, which I know this week we're going to have some different winds. Is there an advantage to it? Maybe. But Sawgrass is also a golf course where you have to execute golf shots, and I love the golf course because it's right in front of you. It's very straightforward, but you still have to do it."
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Players 2026: Ludvig Aberg torches TPC Sawgrass, leads after 63
Continue reading...
