On Thursday, it was a tough round for Ludvig Åberg, 25, in The RSM Classic on the USA tour in Georgia. Åberg finished at +3 after at one point being five strokes over par.
It was tough, obviously a tough day. I felt a bit rusty, he said after the round.
Strong wind
It was his first 18 competitive holes since the tour final at the beginning of September. Directly after the major tournament, Åberg underwent surgery to fix the meniscus in his left knee.
It was in The RSM Classic at Sea Island Golf Club in Georgia that Åberg took his debut win on the PGA tour last year.
The starting field in the competition plays on two different courses for the first two days, one of which is a links course by the sea. It was also windy on Thursday, but during the second round, the wind speed increased and affected mainly the part of the starting field that played the links course on Friday.
Ludvig Åberg, however, played on the somewhat more wind-sheltered course. He started on hole 10 and during his first ten holes, he made four birdies and the rest par.
No bogey
It was just the beginning. After two more consecutive birdies, Åberg could roll in a relatively short putt for eagle on his second-to-last hole and eight strokes under par for the round (64 strokes) without noting a single bogey.
After Thursday, the question was whether Åberg would make the cut for play on the weekend, but with –5 total, the 25-year-old has made it with ease. He climbed 118 places and is in a tied 17th place. American Patrick Fishburn is the sole leader at eleven strokes under par.
The competition's second Swede, Henrik Norlander, is one stroke under par total and will also play on the weekend. For Norlander, the competition is the last chance to stay top 125 on the tour's ranking and get full playing rights on the USA tour next season. Right now, he is 126th on the Fedex cup ranking.
