The PGA Tour took to Southern California over the weekend for the Genesis Invitational. A staple on the tour circuit, the event this year took place at the revered Torrey Pines Golf Course just north of San Diego. Ludvig Åberg emerged victorious from the field when he reached 12-under-par come the end of Sunday’s round. He had to fight off a crowd of Americans right to the very end.
Maverick McNealy playing an impeccable final round and he was threatening to secure the title having achieved nine excellent birdies in his final round before a costly drop shot bogey on the 14th hole. The California native started the Sunday in a share of 8th place, five strokes back from the then leader Patrick Rodgers. At one point in his back nine, McNealy had climbed to become the outright leader by 3 strokes and looked like he was unstoppable.
Åberg answered him back though by making birdies on holes 13-15 to reach 11-under. Finishing with finesse, he went on to birdie the par-5 18th and finish one stroke clear of McNealy who shot a final round 64, denying any chance of a playoff. Having demonstrated excellent skill all week long, Åberg’s win was certainly well-deserved. A breathtaking hole-in-one on the 3rd hole on the Saturday contributed to him reaching his winning total.
The Swede was understandably thrilled with his performance “It was awesome, it was a great fight. I felt like I was in control of the ball flight all day and really proud of the way that I finished. It was so much fun coming down the last few holes trying to win a tournament, it is a really special feeling.” The win enabled Åberg to overtake Hideki Matsuyama and Collin Morikawa in the Official World Golf Rankings, jumping from 6th to 4th place. It was Åberg’s second win the PGA Tour, his first being at the RSM Classic back in 2023.
With the first major tournament just around the corner, the players in hot form now are definitely the ones to look out for. In an article last year, I tipped Åberg to win at the 2024 Masters and he came in second place and he’ll be in no doubt to giving it his all at Augusta this time around too. In fact, I expect him to go one better and to win this year’s Masters. He is the up-and-coming hot shot for a few years now and I truly believe 2025 will be his year to shine. In my opinion he would have won the Masters last year only for his error on the 11th hole when he took on the pin and found the water for his second shot which led to a double bogie. You just knew this was his chance gone to win; however, I am also confident he will use this experience and mistake to help him to win the green jacket in the very near future, possibly even this year.
