It looked to be the biggest success in Swedish men's golf since Henrik Stenson's major victory at The Open in 2016. Åberg had three good rounds under his belt when he went out for the final round on Sunday with a three-stroke lead.
But then Åberg collapsed completely.
Despite a birdie on the second hole, the 26-year-old went four over for the day and finished at nine under par, four strokes behind winner Cameron Young.
Double dives
Åberg drove the ball into the water on both holes 11 and 12, resulting in a bogey and a double bogey respectively. There were also bogeys on holes 4 and 15 on the windy course in Florida that day.
The Swede had several birdie putts in the grass at Sawgrass, but most of them resulted in par instead.
"It will suck tonight, and the rest of the week for sure, but overall I think I leave the competition with a positive feeling and feel that my game is definitely getting better and better," says Åberg.
American victory
"I still finish top five in a very big competition where I feel a lot of excitement. What I take with me is definitely… all the holes except the back nine, really," he continues.
American Young fared better, posting four under for the day to win The Players with a total of 13 under par. With the victory, Young has collected just over 42 million kronor.
"It feels incredibly special and I hope to continue like this for the rest of the season," says Young.
Noren 32nd
The whole thing was decided between Young and Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick in a tense finish on the 18th hole. Young made par and Fitzpatrick made bogey.
Fitzpatrick finished second and American Xander Schauffele came in third at 12 and 11 under par respectively. They will receive over 25 million and 16 million kronor respectively in prize money.
Alex Norén went one under for the day, finishing in a tie for 32nd place with a total of 2 under par.
