– Ludvig Aberg played for the third time in his life at Pebble Beach this Friday. His memories of the previous two occasions were not very good. It was at the Carmel Cup, a university tournament, and he didn’t finish very well. “I don’t think I ever finished in the top 10. I didn’t do very well,” he explained yesterday after finishing his round. Well, it seems that the third time was the charm. Round of 65 strokes, the second best of the day, and tied for the lead with Scheffler and Detry. This is the second time that the young Swede leads a PGA Tour tournament on the third day. The other occasion happened at the RSM Classic. He won the tournament. It’s a nice déjà vu, but quite unexpected.
– Speaking of Aberg, don’t even think about it, everyone should imitate his attitude, professionals and amateurs. “Golf is really changing so much that you can’t get too excited when you’re doing well or sink if things don’t go as you want. The most important thing is to maintain a balance and accept everything as it comes. That’s what I always try to do,” he points out. So, copy Ludvig.
– It’s always fun to review the amazing numbers of Scottie Scheffler… It’s the eleventh lead of his career on the PGA Tour after 36 holes. Since he landed on the American circuit, 2019-20 season, the next one with more leads after two days is Sam Burns with seven. Jon Rahm stayed at six. The difference is significant. However, of those ten previous leads, he only converted two into victories. There’s a thorn in his side.
– Justin Thomas sees himself lifting a trophy sooner rather than later. Last year’s ghosts seem to have gone. “I don’t know if it’s this week, next week or in four, but I know my game is now good enough to win. It wasn’t before, now it is. The difference is that I’m playing golf again without thinking about the swing. That’s my golf. I know one of my rounds of eight, nine, ten or eleven under par is just around the corner,” he says. Well, it’s not just anyone saying these things…
– Patrick Cantlay played at Pebble Beach for the first time when he was twelve years old with his father. It’s a special course for him, even though he finds it hard to show it emotionally. “I don’t like being asked if I prefer to win here or at Riviera, I don’t want to answer that. I’ll stick with winning on both courses and there’s no discussion,” he points out.
– Thomas Detry has chained his second consecutive lead after 36 holes. Last week at the Farmers Insurance Open he finished twentieth. That’s his pending account, but the most important thing is that he knows it and is trying to remedy it. “I’m working with several people on that aspect because I would like to know what’s going on and why I haven’t won yet on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. I know I have the game to do it and I’m going to keep trying. For now, the recipe is to be more in the present. It seems like a cliché, but it’s what works. On too many Sundays my head has started to get ahead of what was happening and that’s not good”. With this reflection and that swing taken from a mould, don’t doubt that his first victory is just around the corner.
– It’s not being Rory McIlroy‘s week, but he won’t leave empty-handed. He won the team competition along with his amateur Jeff Rhodes.
– Matthieu Pavon is in the fight even though he feels that he is just about energy and that the driver has not worked well for him the first two days. Yesterday he went to the practice field to look for a solution after the second round. If that happens to him being two strokes off the lead, be very careful with him if he feels more comfortable from the tee.
– What can we expect from the weather this weekend at Pebble Beach? It seems that Saturday is going to be quite calm, without much wind and with some morning drizzle, but Sunday comes curves… Keegan Bradley signs up for the challenge. “I’ve heard many stories about hitting 4 irons and 5 irons on hole 7 (short par 3 of wedge) because of the wind… Let’s see if we get to live it this Sunday. I wouldn’t mind”. And we say: hopefully.
