PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Ludvig Aberg doesn’t shy away from thinking about winning.
“I think a lot about what it would look like, what it would feel like. I think a lot about the different scenarios that might happen, and I did that in college, I did that when I turned pro and I still do it,” he said. “So I think I’m trying to embrace it. I’m trying to be OK with all those things that comes 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.”
Ludvig Aberg of Sweden reacts on the 11th green during the third round of THE PLAYERS Championship 2026 at THE PLAYERS Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass on March 14, 2026 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
One day after he torched the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass to the tune of 9-under 63, Aberg carded 1-under 71 on Saturday and opened a three-shot lead over Michael Thorbjornsen heading into the final round of the 2026 Players Championship.
Advertisement
“I didn’t play amazing but I got a little bit out of it, at least, which was nice,” Aberg said.
It would have been hard for Aberg, 26, to duplicate his scintillating performance on Friday when he was 5 under on the first four holes. On Moving Day, Aberg was stuck in neutral on the front nine, dropping a stroke at the fourth hole and failing to make a birdie until the par-5 ninth. But it may be playing through that sluggish stretch and not letting the round get away from him that could be the difference between hoisting the trophy or letting the lead slip away.
“He showed that battle that you have to have,” said Aberg’s caddie Joe Skovron. “You always have that nine holes or 18 holes where you win a tournament and you don’t really have it like you did the other days but you hang around. That even par on the front nine was really good.”
Aberg stretched his lead to as many as four shots after he smashed a 5-iron to 17 feet at the par-5 11th and poured in the putt for eagle. It was his sixth eagle in nine rounds at TPC Sawgrass, the most of any player the last three years, and third in the last two days.
Advertisement
Aberg missed a few chances coming home to expand the lead at 16 and 17 and took three putts at 18 from 25 feet after his downhill birdie effort sped eight feet past the hole. But Aberg even took that in stride, noting that he started with a two-shot lead and stretched it to three. And he’s fully aware that his performance so far hasn’t been a smoke and mirrors show: he leads the field in both Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and proximity to the hole this week.
After a disappointing West Coast Swing, Aberg began to see the fruits of his labor in the second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He dialed in his iron play first and then his driver returned to its usual reliable self while at Arnie’s Place last week.
The Ponte Vedra Beach resident will sleep in his own bed on the lead for the second straight night. The theme of the Florida Swing so far has been 54-hole leaders failing to close out wins. Shane Lowry blew a big lead at the Cognizant Classic and last week Daniel Berger fell in a sudden-death playoff at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Aberg exudes a quiet confidence but he admitted that he’ll deal with nerves on Sunday.
“Sawgrass tomorrow is going to be a challenge,” Aberg said. “It’s all about executing, you’re going to get punished if you don’t, which is a fun way to play golf.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Ludvig Aberg leads 2026 Players Championship after three rounds
Read the full article here
