THE PLAYERS: Ludvig Åberg the Leader after Three Rounds

-

 

Photo by Jim Brady/Florida Sports Wire

Third-Round Leaderboard

Pos.

Player

R1

R2

R3

Total

1

Ludvig Åberg

69

63

71

203 (-13)

2

Michael Thorbjornsen

74

65

67

206 (-10)

3

Cameron Young

68

67

72

207 (-9)

T4

Six players tied

 

 

 

208 (-8)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ludvig Åberg (1st/-13)

  • 26-year-old seeks his third career PGA TOUR victory in his 62nd start (2023 RSM Classic, 2025 Genesis Invitational)
  • Third 54-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR (1-for-2); won the 2023 RSM Classic, finished T4 at the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open
  • His three-stroke lead is the largest 54-hole lead at THE PLAYERS Championship since 2018 (Webb Simpson/7 strokes)
  • Matched the most eagles by a player in a single PLAYERS Championship (3), the 18th instance all-time at THE PLAYERS; his second time making three eagles in a PGA TOUR event (previous instance: 2024 PLAYERS Championship)
  • Would become the youngest winner of THE PLAYERS since 2017 at 26 years, 4 months, 15 days (Si Woo Kim/21 years, 10 months, 16 days)
  • Making his third appearance at THE PLAYERS; finished solo eighth in his debut in 2024 and missed the cut in 2025
  • Looks to become the 17th international player (19th instance) to win THE PLAYERS Championship (most recent: Rory McIlroy/2025/Northern Ireland)
  • Looks to become the second player from Sweden to win THE PLAYERS Championship (Henrik Stenson/2009)
  • Would be the 30th win on TOUR by a player from Sweden; currently one of 11 players from Sweden to win on TOUR; his two wins rank T5 among Swedish players, one behind Jonas Blixt (4th/3)
  • Leads the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (11.226), driving distance (301.3) and proximity to hole on approach (28’7”)
  • Making his sixth start of the 2026 season, he has one top-10 finish (T3/Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard)

Michael Thorbjornsen (2nd/-10)

  • 24-year-old seeks his first win on TOUR in his 52nd start (best finish: T2/2024 John Deere Classic, T2/2025 Corales Puntacana Championship)
  • Looks to become the third player to make THE PLAYERS his first win on TOUR (Craig Perks/2002, Tim Clark/2010)
  • Looks to become the fourth player to win THE PLAYERS in his first appearance (Jack Nicklaus/1974, Craig Perks/2002, Hal Sutton/1983); is one of 15 first-timers in the field this week
  • With a win on Sunday, he would become the third-youngest winner in PLAYERS Championship history at 24 years, 5 months, 27 days, behind Si Woo Kim (21 years, 10 months, 16 days) and Adam Scott (23 years, 8 months, 12 days)
  • Opened with 74 on Thursday; would be the high start by a winner of THE PLAYERS Championship (73/Hal Sutton/1983)

Miscellaneous Notes

  • Despite closing with double bogey-6 on No. 18, Cameron Young enters the final round in third at 9-under; seeks his second win on TOUR (2025 Wyndham Championship); entered the week with back-to-back top-10 finishes (T7/The Genesis Invitational, T3/Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard)
  • Making his second start of the 2026 season since returning from back surgery in November, 2021 PLAYERS Champion Justin Thomas (T4/-8) looks to become the ninth multi-time winner of THE PLAYERS Championship (3/Jack Nicklaus, 2/Fred Couples, 2/Steve Elkington, 2/Hal Sutton, 2/Davis Love III, 2/Tiger Woods, 2/Scottie Scheffler, 2/Rory McIlroy)
  • Robert MacIntyre cards the low round of the day with 7-under 65 to move from T42 to T10 on the leaderboard
  • Two-time PLAYERS Champion (2023, 2024) and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (T26/-4) posts bogey-free 67, his 11th round in the 60s in 21 rounds at THE PLAYERS Championship and first time breaking par this week after opening 72-73
  • Making his 24th consecutive appearance at THE PLAYERS, the longest active streak, 2004 champion Adam Scott (T43/-1) recorded his 24th birdie on No. 17, the second-most all-time (26/Bernhard Langer)

Popular posts from this blog

Golf: Remembering Kathy Whitworth, the Game’s Greatest Winner

-
Image
  The golf world and the world in general lost one of its most incredible women with the passing of Kathy Whitworth yesterday. Kathy was a champion in the truest sense of the word, both on the golf course and off. In the short time I spent with Kathy, I was truly blown away by her and her approach to the game and to life. Her strength, insightfulness and vibrancy were obvious from the minute you met her! She inspired me as a young girl and now as the commissioner and I know she did the same for so many others. We all mourn with Bettye, her family and the entire golf world.” – LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan (From the LPGA) By Ron Sirak The dining room at Trophy Club Country Club near Flower Mound, Texas, gazes upon the rolling hills and old oak trees through which two courses meander, one named for the club’s most famous member, Kathy Whitworth, the other the lone design by the icon of Texas golf, Ben Hogan. Inside the dining room the wall opposite the windows appears at fi...
Read more

DAYTONA 500: Byron uses instincts, luck to steer to improbable victory

-
Image
Jared C. Tilton (Getty Images) William Byron celebrates Sunday's Daytona on Victory Lane By Don Coble   DAYTONA BEACH – William Byron’s race-winning move started when the field stormed off the second turn on the final lap of the rain-delayed Daytona 500 Sunday night. As the leaders frantically jockeyed for position on the backstretch, the cars on the inside lane seemed the most out of control. He went for broke by moving next to the outside wall at the Daytona International Speedway. “I just trusted my instincts,” Byron said after becoming the first driver to win consecutive 500s since Denny Hamlin won in 2019-20. “I was getting in the third lane, regardless, because I was probably sixth coming out back.” As he expected, the inside turned into a high-speed game of bumper cars along the backstretch. Although cars were crashing and sliding in every direction, his Chevrolet darted through the carnage unscathed in an improbable rally that took him from ninth place to Victory Lane...
Read more

ReliaQuest Bowl Goes to LSU Tigers over Wisconsin Badgers, 35-31

-
Image
(Photo by Nancy Beecher/Florida Sports Wire)   TAMPA (Florida Sports Wire) - Garrett Nussmeier showed why LSU is confident he's capable of thriving as Jayden Daniels' successor. The 13th-ranked Tigers (10-3) launched the team's post-Daniels era with a 35-31, come-from-behind victory over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday, with a calm Nussmeier leading a 98-yard drive to produce the winning touchdown in the closing minutes. "You do what you have to do to win the football game. It doesn't matter if you start from the 1, the 2 ... you just stick to the process play-by-play, move the chains, move the chains and put the ball in the end zone," the third-year sophomore said. "That doesn't just speak to me, it speaks to our entire group," Nussmeier added. "You can't do it by yourself. And to go 98 yards with the game on the line, that means a lot to me. To be the leader of the offense, that matters more." Stepping in to make his f...
Read more