After three rounds, Åberg was in second place and had a strong shot at his first major title, at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club outside Philadelphia.
Instead, Sunday saw him drop down the leaderboard. Åberg finished the day with a 69, a total of 5 under, and an honorable fourth place in the tournament. The winner was England's Aaron Rai at 9 under.
Personally, I would have liked to have been a little sharper today. Overall, I'm still happy that I stayed in and it's a nice finish, Ludvig Åberg told Viaplay afterwards.
Bogeys made it happen
Åberg started the final round solidly, but a string of bogeys towards the middle gave him a steep uphill climb. On the seventh hole, his second shot bounced past the green and left a difficult approach, where Åberg needed two putts to hold on.
In an attempt to make an eagle on the par-5 ninth, his second shot bounced well past the green, but with his first putt he made a welcome birdie.
That joy was short-lived. The first big miss of the round came when he missed a short putt on the 10th for another bogey. On the next hole, he missed a birdie putt on the 11th. At the same time, his playing partner, England's Aaron Rai, slipped into a share of the lead at six under.
“The foundation feels laid”
The Swede then played up his game with birdies on holes 13, 16 and 18, giving him one of his best finishes ever on tour.
The foundation feels laid. If I can continue to sharpen things here and there, maybe we can make a dent like that in the future, Åberg said.
Åberg's highest finish in a major is second place in the US Masters in Augusta in 2024. Henrik Stenson's victory in the 2016 British Open is still the only Swedish triumph in a men's major.
Mikael Lindberg, the 33-year-old making his first major, struggled on the final day. A 74 meant a total of three over par.
