PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Ludvig Åberg had one hand on the Players Championship trophy Sunday at TPC Sawgrass.
But the 26-year-old Swede, who exudes cool, calm and collected seemingly 24-7, strayed from cool on the back nine in the final round and completely melted down.
He spit up a lead that began the day at three shots and played his way out of contention — finding the water on 11 and 12 — as eventual winner Cameron Young and runner-up Matt Fitzpatrick took control of the tournament.
Åberg, who began the day at 13-under par, shot a 4-over 76 to finish in a tie for fifth at 9-under.
Ludvig Aberg of Sweden watches his shot from the seventh tee during the final round of The Players Championship on March 15, 2026. Getty Images
“Obviously really disappointed,’’ Åberg said afterward. “Obviously, today the back nine was not good, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. It got away from me quick there. It was just poor swings.’’
After his round on Saturday Åberg said he was going to embrace thinking about winning, and he also said he expected to feel nervous.
“You’re always going to feel nerves,’’ he said. “I definitely felt nerves this morning, I felt nerves yesterday and I felt nerves on Thursday and Friday as well.’’
Rory McIlroy’s Players Championship title defense was a dud. He began very much in question because of a back injury he suffered the previous week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
McIlroy, ranked No. 2 in the world and the defending Players and Masters champion, was forced to withdraw from the API at Bay Hill right before his third round last Saturday.
He spent the following four days at home resting and rehabbing and didn’t arrive to TPC Sawgrass for the Players until Wednesday afternoon.
His play somewhat resembled that of a player who didn’t play a practice round as he closed out the week at even-par after shooting a 1-under-par 71 on Sunday. Now the question, given his mediocre week results-wise, is whether McIlroy adds another tournament to his schedule before Augusta. This week was planned to be his final tournament tuneup before defending his Masters title.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland watches his shot from the 12th tee during the final round of The Players Championship 2026. Getty Images
The next PGA Tour event is the Valspar Championship this week, which is followed by the Texas Children’s Hospital Houston Open and then the Valero Texas Open before the Masters.
“I haven’t really made a decision either way,’’ McIlroy said of adding another tournament. “I’ll see how my body feels. We’ll see how I feel in practice and at home, and if I get itchy feet at home, maybe add an event at some point.’’
McIlroy barely made the cut to play the weekend, carding a birdie on his final hole Friday to secure a spot for third round.
“I’m happy to come through four rounds and feel like my body held up well,’’ he said Sunday. “I feel like my game sort of progressively got a little bit better as the week went on, even though the scores probably didn’t reflect it over the weekend.’’
Chad Ramey jarred the first hole-in-one of the tournament when he made an ace on the par-3 13th with a 7-iron from 169 yards.
For the 33-year old from Mississippi, it was his first ace on the PGA Tour, though he said he’s had eight or nine in his life.
“It was great, especially in the moment,’’ Ramey said afterward. “I couldn’t get any putts to fall, so to not have to putt, that was nice. I was hitting kind of a smooth 7-iron and it landed perfectly, almost pin-high right on the slope and fed right down to the hole.’’
Ramey was even-par for the round and 2-under for the tournament when he made the ace. He finished 3-under for the week.
It was the 41st hole-in-one in the history of the Players Championship during its time at the Stadium Course. The last hole-in-one at the Players was made by Keegan Bradley in the final round last year, also occurred on No. 13. In all, it was the 14th ace on 13 in tournament history.
One of the most improbable stories at the Players was Sudarshan Yellamaraju, a 24-year-old Canadian PGA Tour rookie.
He learned to play golf by watching YouTube. Yet in Sunday’s final round, he vaulted himself into contention, climbing to within four shots of Åberg’s lead.
Yellamaraju was born in India and emigrated with his family to Winnipeg at age four. He took up golf at age 6 at a local indoor golf center where he used adult rental clubs because that’s all that was available.
He got the first of his own at age nine and entered his first tournament. By 16, he was the Ontario Amateur Champion. At 19, he skipped the U.S. college route and turned pro despite never having had a lesson.
“I’d just watch YouTube videos of Tiger, [Woods] Rory [McIlroy], Adam Scott, anybody really,” he told the Toronto Sun. “I’d watch on TV too, but when you’re watching live you can’t really stop it and watch it over and over I just like to watch various players and just find little tidbits to see what I can do and just feel it out and see what works for me.”
Not only has he never had a lesson, has never had a coach, saying he corrects his game on a “trial and error’’ basis.
“I’m a feel player,” he said.
