SAN DIEGO — Sweden’s Ludwig Aberg drained a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the Genesis PGA Tour Invitational at Torrey Pines.
JP van der Watt, also, celebrated his first national success in front of a jubilant home crowd when he lifted the Proudfoot Trophy as the winner the stroke play section of the South African Amateur Championship.
Aberg played the last six holes at 4-under as he posted a final round 66 to pip American Maverick McNealy to the title – his second on the PGA Tour.
After a mixed front nine, where he made four birdies and two bogeys, Aberg came alive on the back nine with three straight birdies from the 13th hole.
McNealy was in the clubhouse with his 8-under 64 putting him on 11-under for the tournament when Aberg approached the 18th tied for the lead.
The Swede blasted a perfect drive 317-yards down the middle of the fairway but left himself plenty of work to do after his approach shot ended up on the back of the green, 70 feet from the hole.
“It was awesome. It was a great, you know, a great fight. Obviously the golf course is tough but I felt like I was in control of the ball flight all day and I’m really proud of the way that I finished. It was really cool,” said Aberg according to AFP.
“It’s so much fun kind of coming down the last couple trying to win a tournament. It really is a special feeling and I’m proud of the way that I fought,” he added.
The tournament had to relocate to Torrey from Riviera because of the wildfires in Los Angeles, and Aberg made good on another chance at one of his favorite courses. It was somewhere toward the end that he turned to caddie Joe Skovron and said, “This tour is a lot more fun than the last one we had.”
“Was nice to come here starting to feel like myself again and physically getting there,” he said according to AP. “It means a lot. This is the best feeling in golf, and to be able to do what I did today is definitely going to help me going forward in the future.”
He met Tiger Woods, the tournament host, for the first time a few weeks ago at the indoor TGL in Florida. This was better – Woods presenting him the trophy, the second PGA Tour title for the 25-year-old Swede and his third worldwide that takes him to No. 4 in the world.
“It’s very reassuring to know that I can go from where I was a couple weeks ago to winning a tournament in sort of a quick turnaround,” he said.
It was a close call for McNealy, who three months ago won for the first time on tour. He looked like a winner at Torrey Pines when he opened with eight birdies in 11 holes – not to mention a 40-foot par putt on the first hole – and stretched his lead to three.
But he had to scramble for par on the 17th after a drive that caromed off a pole and into an impossible lie in the rough, and then he failed to convert a birdie on the 18th. He still shot 64, but still on the course was the Swede regarded as one of golf’s rising stars.
“It´s more than I could have asked for at the start of the day,” said McNealy, who started five shots behind. “Ludvig played awesome. I knew with that leaderboard it was going to take some great golf to get it done.”
Woods watched a lot of unfold from the broadcast booth. Woods withdrew from the tournament as he coped with the death of his mother, Kultida, last week. Players wore a red button that had the Thai symbol of love to honor her.
