Ludvig Aberg hits his tee shot on Saturday on No. 3 at TPC Sawgrass.
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We heard that “March is going to be major.” We listened to Brian Rolapp. We watched hundreds of shots into an island — and more than a few into the water around it. But now we’re down to the Players Championship’s final day, so let’s talk about what we’ve seen and what we’re about to see at TPC Sawgrass, where Ludvig Aberg leads by three. Reviewing and previewing the action are writers Josh Schrock, Dylan Dethier and Nick Piastowski.
Nick Piastowski: Hey, Josh. Hey, Dylan. I think combined we watched or read somewhere around 30 hours of Players Championship golf on Saturday, so what’s a few more minutes here? Question one: Pretend someone didn’t watch a single second. What do you tell them?
Josh Schrock: Despite some scratchy moments, Ludvig Aberg took command of this tournament while the other contenders tried desperately to keep their hands on the wheel. As it seems to happen every year, TPC Sawgrass hit back at the end to trim Ludvig’s lead to three, but the day was about his ability to navigate a volatile track while Xander, JT and others not named Michael Thorbjornsen made critical mistakes. The bigger picture is that the Players continues to deliver year in and year out. The course is the perfect test as long as the weather cooperates in March and it always delivers the drama. Sunday will be a lot of fun.
Dylan Dethier: I think I’d start here: The Players rocks and you should watch it tomorrow! It’s funny, I think the “fifth major” talk once again sidetracked us from how great a golf tournament this is. Complete test. Birdies, bogeys, others, drama. Today was great action — big moves and stall-outs too. Ludvig’s out in front. A bunch of flushers are lurking, ready to chase him down. Sunday should be fun.
Piastowski: In a word? Ball striking. In another word? Cool. You need both to win at Sawgrass, and the very top of the leaderboard has a pair of exquisite ball strikers and cool customers in Aberg and Thornbjornsen. Sunday should be extremely entertaining. OK, what’s your takeaway, defining moment from Aberg on Saturday?
Schrock: The defining moment to me was Ludvig’s six-foot putt for par on No. 7. He was skidding all over the place early and was in danger of falling out of the outright lead. He poured it in the center and his lead was four a few holes later. A few takeaways: The first is that when he’s in full flight, as he has been most of the week, Ludvig is mesmerizing to watch. The tee shot he hit on 18 was as pure of a shot as you could draw up in that moment. He scuffled last year after his T7 at the Masters, but the slight tweak he made at Pebble has paid off, and when he’s playing like this, he’s really, really hard to beat. The second takeaway is just that the Players is set up to deliver a career-altering win for someone for the first time since Cam Smith in 2022. Scottie and Rory have dominated this event of late, but on Sunday, we’ll either get a “hello, world” win for Ludvig, a career-elevator for Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele or JT, or a breakthrough win for Cameron Young or Michael Thorbjornsen. That’s the good stuff.
Dethier: His eagle at No. 11 just looked so … easy. This is the joy of watching Aberg: At his best he makes it all look smooth, effortless, elegant. That’s how 235-yard long irons end up like that.
Piastowski: Yes, that eagle at 11 was sensational, as was the putt on 7, as was the drive on 18, and I think that’s what captivates folks about Aberg — he may well be capable of doing that consistently over a period of five or six years and wins who knows how many big titles. Shoot, maybe the run starts Sunday. How is Aberg doing it all? What’s the part of his game that impresses you most?
Schrock: He’s third in strokes gained: off the tee and fourth in approach. He hits it a mile and straight as an arrow. You can attack a lot of the flags at TPC Sawgrass from the short grass, but being out of position is when the big numbers come into play. He’s avoided the big miss with effortless power and precision, which is what always grabs me about Ludvig.
Dethier: This is a cop-out, but … all of it. The fact that he can hit it as far and fast as he does while still gaining strokes in every facet of the game makes him a real unicorn.
Piastowski: As he walked up 18 after his tee shot on Saturday, the NBC cameras captured Aberg alongside caddie Joe Skovron and on-course analyst Jim “Bones” Mackay — and Aberg was laughing. Laughing in the face of all that danger around him? Impressive. Dylan, you had a nice line in our Slack channel this afternoon — that Michael Thorbjornsen is ‘Aberg-lite.’ Can you expand on that? Josh, agree or disagree?
Schrock: I think it’s a great comparison. Both blast it with ease and have similar personalities. Also, both TGL stars we can’t forget.
Dethier: Both tall, strong, upright, athletic, still low-key. They’ve played in similar circles since college, where they had a friendly occasional rivalry. Now they both live in the great Ponte Vedra area, play part-time out of TPC Sawgrass and will share tomorrow’s final tee time. Not a bad time to be either of ‘em, to be honest.
Piastowski: Both have “process-ism,” if I’m allowed to invent a word. I’m not sure they’re completely devoid of nerves — you’ll undoubtedly see a few on Sunday. But man, it really does seem that they lock back into what got them to where they are. They’re kinda nice dudes, too. I think we’d also like to see a Thor-Aberg next September in Ireland. OK, who below those two makes a move on Sunday?
Schrock: I have to think JT will make a run, given his history on this course and how he was able to salvage today’s round after the 7 on No. 6. This course fits his eye and we know he’ll try to play gas-pedal golf tomorrow. Honorable mention to Viktor Hovland, who is quietly in that pack at eight-under.
Dethier: Xander Schauffele. He hit it so well on Friday but fought his swing Saturday — I think he frees up and fires on Sunday. But wow, there are some fun potential contenders. Hovland, Thomas, Young … this could get really fun.
Piastowski: Let’s have fun. Scottie, out earlier, shoots a 62 and sits back and watches everyone chase him as he eats Chipotle. Some squirrely shots here and there on Saturday, as you’d expect at Sawgrass. What surprised you most?\
Schrock: I was pretty surprised Cameron Young hit his tee shot on 18 into the water after stuffing it to a foot on 17. He was primed to be in the final pairing with Ludvig before giving two shots back on 18. Thought he’d close in style, but that 18th hole, especially with the wind off the right, gives these guys fits.
Dethier: Guys seem to have a really tough time committing to the tee shot at No. 12, which is definitely an awkward hole, but 10 bogeys out of 38 players in the late wave on a nearly drivable par-4 is more than I’d expect.
Piastowski: Justin Thomas could very well be in the final group, if not for a pair of water ball tee shots. But that’s Sawgrass. All right, fine I’ll ask: Is this thing a major? Major worthy? What do you want to call it?
Schrock: It’s not a major and that’s perfectly fine. It’s the PGA Tour’s flagship event on an awesome course that almost always delivers. It rings in the start of the major season, but it’s not itself a major. And that’s OK!
Dethier: No. It’s the Players. And that’s actually great!
Piastowski: Yeah, I like all that. The trial balloon of the whole thing was very interesting to watch, though. All right, who wins this thing? (Bonus, if you like, since Sunday’s Selection Sunday — who wins that thing?)
Schrock: I think Ludvig walks to it. This is a fitting championship for him to win and I think he puts this away by the turn tomorrow. As for March Madness, let me just eat more chalk and take Duke. Really going out on a limb to close us out.
Dethier: Ludvig. And Michigan.
Piastowski: Cam Young. In a playoff. And Iowa State.
Josh Schrock is a writer and reporter for Golf.com. Before joining GOLF, Josh was the Chicago Bears insider for NBC Sports Chicago. He previously covered the 49ers and Warriors for NBC Sports Bay Area. A native Oregonian and UO alum, Josh spends his free time hiking with his wife and dog, thinking of how the Ducks will break his heart again, and trying to become semi-proficient at chipping. A true romantic for golf, Josh will never stop trying to break 90 and never lose faith that Rory McIlroy’s major drought will end (updated: he did it). Josh Schrock can be reached at josh.schrock@golf.com.
Dylan Dethier is a senior writer for GOLF Magazine/GOLF.com. The Williamstown, Mass. native joined GOLF in 2017 after two years scuffling on the mini-tours. Dethier is a graduate of Williams College, where he majored in English, and he’s the author of 18 in America, which details the year he spent as an 18-year-old living from his car and playing a round of golf in every state.
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
