Ludvig Aberg stormed through the stretch at Torrey Pines to secure a narrow one-shot victory at the Genesis Invitational.
The 25-year-old Swede came into the final round three shots behind overnight leader Patrick Rodgers and looked to be out of the race as America’s Maverick McNealy stormed up the leaderboard thanks to a sensational run of nine birdies in his opening 13 holes to create a three-shot lead over the rest of the competition.
However, a bogey on the par-4 14th left the door slightly ajar for the Swede and he took advantage of McNealy failing to birdie any of the rest of the holes as Aberg went on a run of his own sinking three birdies in a row to reach McNealy at the summit.
Aberg followed his run of three birdies with back-to-back par putts to remain tied at the top but a crucial seven-putt birdie putt at the last meant he concluded with a final-round 66 to end on 12 under which was enough for him to seal his second career PGA TOUR triumph.
“It was awesome, it was a great fight,” said Aberg speaking to CBS. “Obviously the golf course is tough but felt like I was in control of the ball flight all day and really proud of the way that I finished, it was really cool.
“The [par] putt on 12 was big because I think at that point the lead was at 12 [under] and it was a putt to stay at eight.
“It was so much fun coming down the last few holes trying to win a tournament, it is a really special feeling.”
This victory means that Aberg now rises up to fourth in the Official Golf World Rankings.
McNealy’s 64 saw him end the tournament in second on 11 under while Rodgers settled for a tied-3rd finish alongside World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler on 9 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld taking place between 20-23 February at Vidanta Vallarta in Mexico.