Åberg finished the third round at -1, extending his lead from the previous day. Going into the final round, he is now three strokes ahead of second-place American Michael Thorbjornsen.
Despite the dream situation, he was not completely satisfied with his Saturday round, and his start was tentative. He was one over par after the first eight holes - before he recovered with a birdie on nine and an eagle on 11. But with a bogey on the final hole and -1 for the round, today's result was still far from the success he had earlier in the tournament.
Overall, I didn't play my best golf today, but I managed to keep up, which was nice, he said after the round.
The bogey on the last hole came after he struggled on the green, with several missed putts.
Those three putts irritated me a bit, Åberg said.
Meanwhile, Åberg's top competitors played shakily. Xander Schauffele, second entering the third round, lost his form and finished at +2. Cameron Young (third) and Corey Conners (tied for fourth) finished at par - which allowed Åberg to extend his lead. He is now at -13 overall.
- I started with a two-shot lead and finished with a three-shot lead, so that's positive, Åberg said.
The last - and only - time a Swede won The Players was in 2009 when Henrik Stenson won the tournament.
Åberg now has a great opportunity to repeat the feat.
