Hardwood timber
Ludvig Åberg made his major championship debut at The Masters last week and shocked the world when he finished solo second behind Scottie Scheffler.
Ahead of RBC Heritage, the Swedish golfer reflected on his time in Augusta National.
With a veteran caddie on his bag, Joe Skovron, the duo took Augusta National head-on despite the high winds and made it look easy. He had a shot at history, but Amen Corner showed its teeth and cost him on the 11th hole Sunday.
“That was probably where I lost the tournament, but I didn’t know it at the time,” Åberg said.
“All I tried to do is keep pushing forward and keep pushing forward. You never know what’s going to happen, especially on a course like Augusta. Even though I made a dumb mistake on 11, I was still in the hunt and felt very fortunate to be in that situation.”
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
The former Texas Tech Red Raider double-bogeyed 11 after his approach got wet going wayward left. He would go on to get those two shots back to card a 3-under 69. However, it was not enough to catch Scheffler, who ran away with the tournament to earn his second Green Jacket.
“It wasn’t ideal to dump it in the water. I think we all know that,” he said. “But at the end of the day, Joe, my caddie, my team and I talked a lot about keeping playing and making sure that the next shot is your best one. That’s all you can do. That’s all you can try to focus on.”
Despite being just 24 years of age, Åberg has already made a dent in professional golf.
Åberg already won on the PGA Tour and was part of a winning Ryder Cup team before ever starting in a major. However, that did not mean he went into Augusta National overconfident. Åberg had plenty to learn.
“You can’t force it around Augusta National,” Åberg explained. “It’s very difficult to try to make up for mistakes. Most times you take your medicine and be okay with that. That’s one of the things that I felt like we did very well. We kept the discipline.”
He will look to take his momentum into this week’s RBC Heritage Signature Event at Hilton Head.
Åberg will play alongside his Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy at 1:40 p.m. ET on Thursday and 10:30 a.m. on Friday.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.