After a tentative start on Thursday, Ludvig Åberg has offered first-class golf for three days in a row.
That was enough almost all the way.
Åberg finished Sunday's round with his sixth birdie of the day – and the Swede was then in a shared lead at -17 overall. Above all, it was the close play and putting that worked for Åberg, even though he missed a couple of short birdie putts on holes 14 and 15.
"It's nice to see that parts of the game that I've been working on are showing some improvement. It's the short game and putting that I think need to go up a couple of levels," he tells Viaplay.
A shot from a penalty shootout
Matt Fitzpatrick – Åberg's partner in the Ryder Cup in September – was the one who ultimately ruined the chances of a blue-yellow victory celebration. The Englishman finished with a birdie to reach -18.
World number two Rory McIlroy, who was in the lead, then took the chance to force a playoff when he managed to make eagle on the final hole.
A little bitter of course, I would have liked to have had a chance in a special game, Åberg tells Viaplay.
A victory this year
Having finished the season fighting for victory still gives us something to look forward to before the upcoming break.
Even if we didn't win this one, maybe we can take the next one instead, says the 26-year-old, whose only victory of the year came in the PGA Tour's major competition The Genesis Invitational in February.
In the playoff, on the 18th hole, Matt Fitzpatrick got an early lead when Rory McIlroy hit his tee shot into the water. A par from Fitzpatrick was enough to decide, as McIlroy only made bogey.
McIlroy still ends his phenomenal season as a winner, as he nevertheless secured the overall victory in the DP World Tour's "Race to Dubai".
