It wasn’t to be for Ludvig Aberg at this year’s Masters. The 25-year-old finished in seventh place after a disappointing end to the final round.
Aberg woke up on Sunday morning with a six-shot deficit to 54-hole leader Rory McIlroy, so his chances to win were slim.
However, the Swede found himself level with McIlroy and Justin Rose at 10-under midway through the round, giving him hope of an unbelievable turnaround.
Unfortunately, he made a bogey on the 17th hole and a triple bogey on the 18th and tumbled down the leaderboard as a result.
And it wasn’t just his hope of victory that was damaged with those mistakes; his earnings took a significant hit, too.
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Ludvig Aberg cost himself so much money with terrible Masters finish
Aberg’s nightmare last hole at Augusta National started with his drive into the fairway bunkers, leaving him with an almost impossible approach shot.
If he weren’t playing for the Green Jacket, he most certainly would’ve laid up. That’s not what he chose to do on this occasion.
The Swede attempted the ‘hero shot’, and it didn’t come off – hitting the face of the bunker and coming back towards him.
His next try was pretty good and gave him a slim chance to make a par or, more likely, a bogey, except his short game was then really messy.
It was almost like Aberg’s balloon had been burst, and he showed a lack of concentration in making a triple bogey.
This caused him to fall from third, level with Patrick Reed, all the down to solo seventh. This cost him many points in the Official World Golf Ranking and Ryder Cup qualification, as well as more than $500,000.
Ludvig Aberg’s different practice method paid off at The Masters
There’s a lot to like about Ludvig Aberg. Not only is he a world-class golfer, but he also goes about his business as cooly as anyone. Slow play definitely isn’t an issue with him.
Another thing Aberg does differently to most PGA Tour players is practice. He still works hard, except he prefers to test himself in tournament conditions more so than the driving range.
Dan Rapaport explained in an article for Skratch: “I asked him Wednesday what the focus of his practice has been. He’s not a ball-basher like Bryson [DeChambeau] or [Matt] Fitzpatrick or, more recently, [Max] Homa.
“It is a bit weird when you think about it—golf’s one of the only sports where ‘practicing’ looks totally different than competing. Dead-flat lies, the same club over and over. You don’t practice on the same field you play on. Only that’s exactly what Ludvig did in his quest to regain some magic.”
Aberg told the media before The Masters started: “(My practice has been) to play a lot of golf and stop swinging golf. I would like to sort of see the ball flights, and I’ve kept the score over the last couple of days just to sort of get that competitive sort of situation, a simulation, I guess… I always liked to do it on Wednesdays, but this time I’ve done it every day, which I’ve enjoyed doing and I think it’s been good for me.”
While many others hit hundreds of balls at the practice facility throughout Masters week, Aberg did much of his learning on the course. With a sixth-place finish, it’s fair to say it worked.
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