Ludvig Åberg thinks about winning a lot.
On Sunday, the two-time PGA Tour winner and Ryder Cupper has the chance to win the biggest title of his career to date at the 2026 Players Championship, where he has a three-shot lead.
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It’s the largest 54-hole lead at The Players since 2018, when Webb Simpson was seven shots ahead and held on to win by four.
The 26-year-old Swede doesn’t shy away from the what ifs – he embraces them. While some might avoid thinking about the next round or what a win like The Players would do for one’s career, he thinks about what it would look like, what it would feel like. He’s done that since his college days at Texas Tech.
“I think I’m trying to embrace it,” Åberg said Saturday in his post-round press conference. “I’m trying to be okay with all those things that come with it, which is why we play golf.
“We spend so much time practicing, playing, training, preparing, so why wouldn’t we think of what it would actually mean to win. So, naturally, that’s what I’m going to do tonight. But does it change anything for me tomorrow? I don’t think so.”
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Åberg left some shots on the course Saturday – all of the players in contention did.
It was a beautiful day at TPC Sawgrass; the winds were low, and the course was playing soft in some spots. Still, no one could quite get a handle on it. Of those in the top 20, you have to go all the way to Sudarshan Yellamaraju at T-19 to find a bogey-free round, followed by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler at T-26.
Åberg was slow to start with an early bogey before a birdie at the ninth and eagle at the 11th gave him some momentum. It looked like he might pick up another shot or two on the back nine, but he three-putted the 18th in an unsatisfying end to the round.
“The three-putt on 18 kind of stings, annoys me a little bit, but yeah, overall I started the day with a two-shot lead and ended with a three, so that’s a positive for sure,” Åberg said. “It’s all about executing – you’re going to get punished if you don’t, which is a fun way to play golf.”
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That’s how Åberg carries himself: an unflappable guy who enjoys playing golf and plays it well. But he’ll be nervous tomorrow; he’s been nervous the past three days.
“I’ve been nervous every time I step on 17 tee box as well,” Åberg said of Sawgrass’ notorious island green. “So I think it’s a part of it. I think whoever says they don’t get nervous is not really true to themselves.”
Åberg says he has some tells when he’s nervous. He gets really fast – talking fast, breathing fast, getting worked up. So when he catches himself – which he does when he’s in a “good frame of mind” – he slow things down. He walks slow, talks slow. Even his caddie, Joe Skovron, will slow down with him. The method has worked at Ryder Cups and other big events.
One thing that might help Åberg Sunday is familiarity – with the course and with Michael Thorbjornsen, who he is paired with in the final round.
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Åberg may play from his hometown of Eslov, Sweden, but he lives in Ponte Vedra, Florida. He practices at Sawgrass throughout the year and knows the Stadium Course well. After leaving Texas Tech in 2023, Ponte Vedra was a “pretty easy decision” as far as where to live.
As luck would have it, Thorbjornsen – who sits at 10 under after a 5-under 67 – lives about 15 minutes from Sawgrass himself. Him and “Lud” go way back to junior golf. In college, Thorbjornsen looked up to Åberg despite him only being a year older. Nowadays, they’ll see each other around the course and in the locker room. The duo has played both of Sawgrass’ courses together.
“I love playing golf with him,” Thorbjornsen said when presented with the prospect of being paired together. Meanwhile, Åberg was already talking with Skovron before the round was over – “It looks like we’re playing with Michael tomorrow, which will be fun.”
If Thorbjornsen is able to come from behind to upset his practice buddy, he’ll get a statement first PGA Tour win – and bragging rights.
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Either player winning will be a feather in the cap for the PGA Tour University program that aims to bridge the gap between the college and pro games. Both Åberg (2023) and Thorbjornsen (2024) finished No. 1 in their respective PGA Tour University classes to earn their Tour cards.
While they play against each other, they’ll also have to fend off an all-star leaderboard capable of closing the gap. Cameron Young is sitting solo third at nine under, followed by a six-pack at eight under that owns six majors and one Players win between them; that group consists of Matt Fitzpatrick, Brian Harman, Viktor Hovland, Justin Thomas, Corey Conners and Xander Schauffele.
“If you keep putting yourself in that position, it’s going to happen at some point,” Thorbjornsen said. “So I think that’s really the main goal of all of us players out here is to have a chance or be in contention on the back nine on Sunday, and however the cards may fall, that’s just how it is.”
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