Of course, Tiger Woods’ tournament, which was moved to Torrey Pines this year due to the wildfire recovery in Los Angeles, would come down to that putt.
The cup on the par-5 18th on Sunday wasn’t in the exact spot as Woods’ famous putt on the 72nd hole of the 2008 U.S. Open — it was about a cup to the left, according to Woods. But it was close enough to spark memories of that iconic Woods moment when Ludvig Aberg approached his 6-foot, 9-inch birdie attempt — about half the length of Woods’ in 2008 — that he needed to hole to win the 2025 Genesis Invitational.
Aberg started the day two shots back of 54-hole leader Patrick Rodgers but watched as Maverick McNealy made eight birdies in 11 holes to rocket up the leaderboard and grab pole position along the La Jolla, Calif., coast.
Aberg made the turn at 8-under-par and found himself four shots back of McNealy when he stood on the tee box at the par-4 12th hole. With McNealy in cruise control, Aberg seemed like an afterthought (the television broadcast didn’t show a shot of his for over an hour.)
But the 25-year-old hung tough while battling one of the toughest courses on tour. He made a scrappy par at no. 12 that kept him within arm’s length of McNealy and then flipped a switch starting on the par-5 13th. He reached the green in two and made an easy birdie after almost holing a 48-foot eagle putt. He stuck his approach shot on no 14 to five feet for another birdie and then drained a 25-foot birdie putt on no. 15 to tie McNealy for the lead at 11-under.
With McNealy in the house and finished, Aberg needed one more birdie to avoid a playoff and win the tournament of the golfer he, and almost everyone on the PGA Tour, idolized growing up.
He made an easy par at 16 and barely missed a birdie putt at no. 17.
Needing a birdie on the 72nd hole, Aberg striped a 317-yard drive right down the center of the fairway and then blasted a 7 wood to the back of the green, leaving himself 68 treacherous feet to the cup. Aberg’s eagle putt carried too much speed to die as it reached the ridge and drifted left of the hole. Six feet, nine inches left of the hole.
The young Swede surveyed the putt and delivered a confident strike. The ball left the face of Aberg’s putter and went right in the center of the cup, leading to a euphoric yell and a fist pump to cap off the Signature Event win.
A birdie for the win @TheGenesisInv!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 16, 2025
Soak it in, Ludvig 🏆 pic.twitter.com/H8KkZNqiON
Aberg was the model of lethal consistency at Torrey Pines.
He gained 5.4 strokes on approach this week, 2.85 off the tee and 2.31 on the greens. He gained over 10 strokes tee-to-green during the week. He finished the week 9-under on the par 3s, which, according to Justin Ray, is the best performance on the par 3s at Torrey Pines in a PGA Tour event in history. The previous best was 7-under by Peter Jacobsen in 1995.
“It was awesome,” Aberg told CBS’ Amanda Balionis after his 6-under-par 66 that included eight birdies. “It was a great fight. Obviously, the golf course is tough but felt like I was in control of my ball flight all day. I’m really proud of the way I finished. It was really cool.”
Aberg lost nearly 10 pounds in two days due to the illness that struck him last time the Tour was at Torrey Pines. He held the 36-hole lead and ground through to finish the tournament but eventually dropped down the leaderboard on the weekend.
He arrived at Torrey Pines wanting golf revenge, and to get it at Woods’ event makes it that much sweeter.
“He’s the GOAT,” Aberg said of Woods. “It’s pretty cool. Everything he has done. Everyone who idolized him growing up. I was the same. I was watching Tiger videos on YouTube and watching every tournament I could. He means a lot to our game. To win his event is quite surreal.”
There will never be another Tiger. But it was fitting that with the 15-time major champion watching, Aberg did what Woods has done so many times during his eight career wins at Torrey Pines.
He hung in the fight. He made big par putts to keep his round going. He didn’t get rattled by loose shots or a bad break.
Then, when the trophy was within reach, the best ball striker in the field went on a birdie barrage before plunging the dagger into his competitors with a closing birdie and a mighty fist pump that pierced the San Diego air to cement the biggest win of his young career.
