– Ludvig Aberg (-13) more than managed with a 71 in the third round of the THE PLAYERS to consolidate his place at the top of the leaderboard and build an interesting three-shot cushion heading into the final round. So far, all good for the Swede, but it must also be acknowledged that he let slip a good chance to leave the rest of the contenders almost out of the running on a day when the planets really seemed to align for him.
– A curious chain of events very favourable to the leader occurred on Saturday: of the last five groups to tee off no player managed to break seventy and only two beat the course, Austin Smotherman (-7) and Jacob Bridgeman (-7). Schauffele (-8) carded a 72, Hodges a 77, McNealy a 73, while Young, Conners, Thomas and Straka finished on 72 strokes.
– All of this, moreover, happened on a day that was not especially windy nor affected by any other weather phenomenon, and not even the murderous rough you find on this course this week is enough to explain this strange occurrence, so favourable to Aberg. The THE PLAYERS is a proper tournament and the TPC Sawgrass an extraordinary opponent, but not even in his wildest dreams would Aberg have extended his lead with a 71. It should also be noted that this third-round Saturday registered the lowest scoring average (71.46), and it is hardly a coincidence that only Aberg lowered that figure among the six players who went out today in the final three groups. In short, if it is not the champion’s luck, it is close enough…
– This poltergeist was much better exploited by others coming from further back. For example, the young American prospect Michael Thornbjornsen (-10) who has moved into Sunday’s feature group with a 67, a fantastic result, no doubt, but not out of this world.
– Aberg has produced another eagle in the third round, this time at the 11th hole. Only the 16th of the course’s par-5s stands between him and a four-eagle haul. But today he was not top of the class in any area of his game. That said, his excellent attitude, on a round that started somewhat hesitantly, was probably decisive. That is Ludvig: he always seems to rise above the circumstances, for better or worse. A trait that in the long term can give him as much or more reward than any technical ability.
– We will see if Schauffele finds enough margin tomorrow to put himself in contention for victory on the closing holes. Today has been another small mystery for him, because he was really off with his irons and wedges, surely the last thing anyone expected from him in this third round, given what we saw in previous rounds.
– The one who will no longer find a window of opportunity is Scottie Scheffler (-4), but the world No. 1 will have gone back to the hotel moderately satisfied with that 67 and no bogeys. In any case, today he only birdied one par-5 (hole 2) and his total on the long holes after three rounds is a modest -3… Aberg’s sits at -11, and Thorbjornsen’s at -6. The Saturday improvement was clear in any case and perhaps a big Sunday round from the Texan should be expected.
