Masters runner-up Ludvig Åberg hopes he can shake off some post Augusta National fatigue after he moved into contention for a second PGA TOUR win at the RBC Heritage.
Åberg might be battling some fatigue but it didn’t show as he went up another gear late on in Friday’s second round, reeling off four birdies in his last six holes to close to within one shot of the lead at Harbour Town.
The Swede has already achieved so much since turning pro only last June. He became the first player to play in a Ryder Cup before playing in a major championship.
He won the Omega European Masters before the Ryder Cup, he won the RSM Classic over the winter for his maiden PGA TOUR title and he already sits in 7th place in the Official World Golf Rankings and that could improve if he can win this weekend.
Åberg flirted with becoming the first Masters rookie to win a green jacket since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 and the first man to win a major on debut since Keegan Bradley in 2011 but he was unable to chase down a rampant Scottie Scheffler last week.
Now in contention again, the 24-year-old is confident he can shrug off any tiredness.
“I’d like to think that I’m young and I’m able to handle it,” said Aberg, who trailed leaders Tom Hoge, Sepp Straka, JT Poston and Collin Morikawa on 10-under.
“But obviously last week was a lot, and it was a lot going through my mind. You can’t really relax playing Augusta National in those conditions.
“So I think naturally I’m going to be a little bit tired, a little bit fatigued, but we’ve got two more rounds to go, and my focus is right here.”
The Swedish golfer admits that Wentworth is one of the hardest golf courses he has played in his burgeoning professional career. Every course is a new challenge for him so far.
He changed up his caddie in December opting to bring in veteran American looper Joe Skovron (who numbers Rickie Fowler and most recently Tom Kim among his past paymasters) as his new caddie and psychologically he has helped him a lot.
“The hardest golf course — I mean, there’s a few of them. I think a few we played last year, I remember Wentworth was very tricky that we played last year. There was just a lot to it. And then Augusta National is one that was hard.
“I trust my team. I trust Joe. He’s been around a lot. He’s been helping me tremendously with those things.”
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