Trends point to Aberg having a shot at redemption after Sunday collapse at the Players Championship
Redemption.
It cannot be achieved without loss.
Merriam-Webster defines ‘redemption’ as “ the act, process, or an instance of redeeming.” And for Ludvig Aberg, that opportunity comes this week in Augusta, Ga.
Winning “The Big One” was almost something Aberg checked off his bucket list two starts ago at the 2026 Players Championship. After missing the cut at that event in 2025, Aberg led the tournament Sunday afternoon as he stood on the 11th fairway, hitting his second shot into a par 5 from the middle of the fairway.
Less than 30 minutes later, after Aberg put not one but two balls into the water, a multi-shot lead was now a multi-shot deficit. Aberg’s chances of winning The Players were gone.
In a recent interview with the Fore Play Podcast, Aberg discussed the back nine at TPC Sawgrass, saying that even though his water balls on 11 and 12 were poorly executed swings, he liked that he was aggressive under pressure.
In terms of what he would change, Aberg talked about his process, and how sometimes his natural fast-paced play can hurt him in pressure-packed moments.
“I think looking back, I would’ve liked to slow things down a little.” Aberg said, “It’s almost like, you get slapped and you look up 20 minutes later and you’re four back, going ‘f*** what happened there?’”
When asked what that process of slowing down would look like next time, Aberg said, “It could be walking slower to the ball, or taking a few extra sips of water, go to the bathroom – take a piss.” He added, “It’s easy to, that’s my tendency when I play golf and in general, I do things fast. I walk fast, I talk fast, I do all these things fast, but sometimes it gets too fast and sometimes I have to tell myself to ‘slow it down a little bit.’”
Aberg, like almost all golfers and athletes, has had to learn how to lose before he gets his moment in the sun.
It’s been a meteoric rise to stardom for this 26-year-old Swede that was playing college golf at Texas Tech not that long ago. It feels like just yesterday he was making his pro debut at the 2023 Canadian Open. Lessthan three years later Aberg has three wins worldwide, has been on two winning Ryder Cup teams, along with two top 10s in his first two trips to this week’s trip to Augusta.
In his first major at The Masters two years ago, Aberg finished solo second, losing to Scottie Scheffler by four shots, while also being three shots clear of a trio in T3.
He followed that up with a finish of seventh here last year, and that could’ve been even better if he hadn’t triple-bogeyed the last hole of the week while trying to make birdie from the fairway bunker, trying to catch leaders Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose.
Could this be the week Aberg puts it all together and wins the first major championship of his career? Perchance.
If he does, I certainly won’t be surprised. After a sluggish start to 2026, Aberg found his form during the Florida swing, picking up back-to-back top fives at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players.
Last week, he finished his prep for this week by tying for fifth at the Valero Texas Open.
KEY TRENDS POINT TOWARDS ABERG FOR 2026 GREEN JACKET
Every week, I use thestatsdontlie.com to check for trends, and this week they have rolled out a chart featuring the top 25 players in the world.
Aberg checks the box for 12 of the 15 trends posted and is just one of 13 golfers to meet that many trends.
I won’t give you every stat, but here are a few:
12 of the last 12 winners were ranked inside the top 25 World Rankings – Aberg enters 17th
11 of the last 12 winners had a finish in this event of 22nd or better – Aberg’s best finish is a solo second
11 of the last 12 winners finished 31st or higher on their last start before the event – Aberg finished T5 in his most recent start
One trend not featured is the one that separates Aberg from most of the other 13. The previous 11 Masters winners have all played at least once in the two weeks leading up to the event.
In the past, the PGA Tour’s Match Play tournament fell two weeks ahead of this event, so most of the world’s best players would play that week, and gave life to this trend.
But since the match play event is no longer, it’s now on the players to play in either the Houston Open or Valero Texas Open to fit that trend. It’s only been two years, but our most recent winners have kept it going.
Last year, Rory McIlroy finished T5 at Houston, The year before, Scottie Scheffler finished T2 in Houston.
Circling back to that group of 13, Aberg is just one of three (Tommy Fleetwood and Hideki Matsuyama) on that list to have played in each of the last two weeks.
Most trends point to Aberg having a chance to put himself in contention once again this Sunday afternoon. If he does put himself in the mix, he won’t be the only one trying to slow things down.
Green looks good on you, Luddy. Go get yourself a jacket.
