Ludvig Aberg’s actions after blowing lead at The Players made all the more impressive by Scottie Scheffler
· Yahoo Sports
Ludvig Aberg owned his collapse at The Players.
He looked to be cruising to the biggest victory of his career on the back nine of TPC Sawgrass, but a ball in the water on the 11th hole set off a series of terrible decisions and horrendous swings, as the young Swedish superstar threw away his lead.
Visit milkshakeslot.lat for more information.
It was a devastating defeat, and one that only fuels the narrative that he isn’t able to handle the high-pressure moments when the spotlight shines the brightest. Aberg was predicted to be a generational talent, but as time passes, it seems the heights set for him were too lofty.
However, his actions after the event show pure class, class that even world number one Scottie Scheffler did not display throughout the week at The Players.
Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty ImagesLudvig Aberg gives a refreshingly honest assessment of his performance at The Players
Minutes after concluding his round, with Cam Young’s celebrations happening in the background, Aberg stood tall and faced the music from the media.
PGA Tour players are not contractually bound to do so, so it’s a massive credit to the players who perform poorly but still take the time to give their thoughts. Shane Lowry did so at the Cognizant Classic, and Aberg followed suit at The Players.
There were no excuses from Aberg either. “Definitely felt nerves this morning”, he admitted, “it was a poor swing, a really poor swing”, he conceded. “It was just a disappointing back nine, and hopefully I’ll do a little bit better next time.”
You can criticise Aberg for his play on the back nine, but you cannot knock his attitude.
Compare that to Scheffler, who has given the media attitude since his arrival at TPC Sawgrass this week.
Scheffler refused to acknowledge that he was playing poorly in the build-up to the tournament and chose not to speak to the media after his second and final rounds, after disappointing showings.
Of course, Scheffler has no obligation to talk to the media. But his snappiness and avoidance of them throughout the week, contrasted with Aberg’s open and honest approach, show just how classy the Swede is, even after the most heartbreaking defeats.
Ludvig Aberg’s reaction to losing The Players on the final nine holes
Aberg was praised by Rory McIlroy for his pace of play before his final round at The Players, but he admitted afterwards that it might have cost him the tournament.
He said, “It got away from me quick there. Yeah, it was just poor swings. I felt like I’ve had that sort of 7-wood right miss a few times this week, on No. 4 especially twice, and it came up on 11 as well.
“Then tried to press a little bit on 12, hitting driver, where sometimes you can play 3-wood a little short of that bunker.
“Yeah, obviously really disappointed. I would have loved to be standing where Cameron is standing right now. But overall I still felt like I saw some nice things in my game this week.”
He continued, “You’re always going to feel nerves. Definitely felt nerves this morning, I felt nerves yesterday and I felt nerves on Thursday and Friday as well.
“I think the main thing for me is I think about winning, but I try not to get ahead of myself when I’m playing golf. I think the front nine we handled quite well. I felt like we handled it to the point where it definitely could have been few shots better here and there. It was just a disappointing back nine, and hopefully I’ll do a little bit better next time.
“I definitely felt a little bit fast at times. I would imagine if I look at those swings on sort of 11, 12, they probably were quick swings. Takeaway got really fast and then the rest of it kind of spirals from there. That’s something that I should have been aware of, now looking back. But yeah, that’s the way it goes.”