berg

PGA Tour U grad joins Ludvig Åberg, ready for hometown pro debut pga,tour,u,grad,joins,ludvig,berg,ready,for,hometown,pro,debut,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 19, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — New England has another PGA Tour pro and his name is Michael Thorbjornsen.

After finishing atop the PGA Tour University rankings, as Ludvig Åberg did in 2023, Thorbjornsen earned his PGA Tour card for the remainder of the 2024 season and all of 2025. But since he hails from Wellesley, Massachusetts, a suburb west of Boston, the Travelers Championship decided to award Thorbjornsen with a sponsor’s exemption, given that this is the only tour event held in New England.

“This is definitely my home, I would say, on the PGA Tour,” Thorbjornsen said in front of the press Wednesday.

“I obviously made my first PGA Tour start here two years ago as an amateur. Love this place. It’s close to home. Love the golf course. Travelers does an amazing job of hosting the players, the caddies, just incredible hospitality and, yeah, I couldn’t ask for a better start.”

Two years ago, before this tournament evolved into a Signature Event, Thorbjornsen finished in solo fourth, four strokes behind winner Xander Schauffele. The former Stanford Cardinal shot all four rounds in the 60s as he sat toward the top of the leaderboard for most of the weekend. That strong performance came one week after the 2022 U.S. Open, where he missed the cut at The Country Club at Brookline—just miles from where he grew up.

He received another invite last year but unfortunately missed the cut. At least a fellow New Englander, Keegan Bradley, emerged victorious.

Thorbjornsen will make his professional debut this year, as he believes his prior experiences as an amateur have helped him immensely.

“Growing up as a kid you always want to be playing at that top stage, playing on the PGA Tour,” Thorbjornsen added.

“It’s definitely a little overwhelming at times, but… the past couple of years, I’ve been exposed to more and more of this, so it’s not too much of a shock to the system. I guess I’m getting used to it. It’s okay, I really don’t mind it at all.”

But now that Thorbjornsen has a bigger opportunity and will be in the limelight more often, he has a chance to influence other young players from the New England area. He is honored to have that opportunity.

“Just because you’re from the northeast and it snows for more than half of a year, that’s no excuse. Just keep working hard, guys,” Thorbjornsen said when asked if he had a message to younger players from New England.

“I just want to set a good example for these kids and inspire them to be the best golfers and best human beings they could possibly be because that’s what the guys ahead of me did for me as well. So, hopefully, one day in 10 years, we’ll have some of these kids out here playing and beating me and winning this tournament.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

U.S. Open: Tony Finau, Ludvig Åberg kiss chances goodbye on 13 u,s,open,tony,finau,ludvig,berg,kiss,chances,goodbye,on,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 16, 2024 By: admin

One hole took down two contenders on Saturday afternoon at the U.S. Open.

The short, dogleg right 13th hole, which only measures 368 yards, turned into a beast—at least for Tony Finau and Ludvig Åberg.

When Finau stepped on the 13th tee, he had just dropped back down to 4-under for the championship, thanks to a bogey at the 12th. Bogies do not kill golfers in U.S. Opens, but anything worse does.

After finding the fairway off the tee, Finau had less than 100 yards into the pin, which sat on a little shelf on the front right corner of the green. A false front repels anything a tad short, while a slope beyond the pin knocks anything long into a sand trap that must be avoided.

Accuracy on this approach was paramount, and both Finau and Åberg wound up making a mess of things.

Finau’s second shot came up short, as his ball rolled all the way down the slope, settling 30 yards short of the green. He decided to bring the putter out, but that attempt failed miserably. Finau raced his putt well past the flag, and it ended up in the bunker.

The ping-ponging had begun.

“Didn’t have a very good lie. Didn’t really want to pitch it,” Finau said of his third shot.

“Ended up playing ping-pong there.”

His bunker shot then went too far, settling in an area not far from where his second shot had stopped. He wound up making a triple bogey seven, knocking him all the way down to 1-under.

“Thirteen is going to jump out at me as a hole that was the toughest pin on the whole championship, in my opinion,” Finau added.

“That green is pretty crazy right there where that pin is—just the wrong time to miss a shot. Anything can happen on this golf course. I’m just happy with the way I finished.”

Finau closed with five straight pars to card a 2-over 72.

Åberg, meanwhile, played two groups behind Finau and made a similar mistake.

“What happened to me on 13 is not ideal,” Åberg said.

Ludvig Åberg, U.S. Open — Ludvig Åberg hits out of the bunker on the 13th hole during the third round.

“It doesn’t necessarily change the way that you try to approach this golf course. I think there’s only a certain way you can play it. If you don’t play that way, you’re going to get punished. That’s what I did.”

Unlike Finau, the Swede tugged his drive on 13 into the native area left of the fairway. He then hit his second shot just short of the green, exacerbated by the severe slope in front. Then Åberg airmailed his chip into the back bunker, and he, too, began to play some ping pong.

When his game on 13 ended, Åberg penciled in a dreadful seven, sending him back to 2-under for the championship. Meanwhile, his playing partner, Bryson DeChambeau, had all the momentum in the world.

Now DeChambeau leads by three over Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, and Matthieu Pavon at 7-under. Åberg sits five back, while Finau is six. But if not for the unlucky 13th hole, they would still have a chance to win. And yet, their ping-pong games ended in disappointment, but they ended their shots at capturing that first major title, too.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

U.S. Open: Ludvig Åberg’s daring shot breeds viral caddie moment u,s,open,ludvig,berg,s,daring,shot,breeds,viral,caddie,moment,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,us-open-golf,golf-majors,golf-pga-tour,golf-fan-reactions

On: June 15, 2024 By: admin

Ludvig Åberg has been impressive since his PGA Tour debut last year. This week at the U.S. Open is no different, as he held the lead after 36 holes at Pinehurst No. 2.

Yet, he did not have his best stuff with him during the third round, until he arrived at the par-5 10th. After finding the fairway once again off the tee, Åberg had 289 yards left. He pulled out his 7-wood and hit it so well that it even impressed his caddie, Joe Skovron.

He hit that shot to 9 feet from the hole, but to do so, he needed to take an aggressive line over the trees. It was a risky shot regardless of the course, but at Pinehurst, it was nearly impossible.

Åberg does phenomenal things routinely on the golf course, but this was a whole new level—Skovron’s facial expression says it all. Even the young Swede gave Skovron his own goofy reaction as the ball went exactly where he wanted it to.

Fans went wild over the moment, too, but most of their reactions were about Skovron’s priceless reaction.

His reaction was you’re gong to make me rich!

— Andy froemel (@FroemelAndy) June 15, 2024

The 24-year-old narrowly missed the eagle putt and settled for birdie, but people will talk about this second shot for a long time. Most veteran players struggle to hit that shot, and Åberg made it look easy.

Very few players can hit that kind of shot, which was impressive to watch. Skovron, a veteran caddie in his own right, has seen a lot of golf; but for him to make that face proves how incredible the moment was.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

Golf Talk Today: U.S. Open Rd. 3 Tee Times, Ludvig Åberg’s Pinehurst magic golf,talk,today,u,s,open,rd,tee,times,ludvig,berg,s,pinehurst,magic,sbnation,com,golf,us-open-golf,golf-majors,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 15, 2024 By: admin

Welcome to Playing Through’s new morning ritual — Golf Talk Today.

Each morning will feature a Golf Talk Today, where the crew will discuss various elements throughout the PGA Tour, LPGA, LIV Golf, and more.

It’s Moving Day at the 124th U.S. Open.

Ludvig Åberg leads the field by one shot in his U.S. Open debut. He is eying some magic from Pinehurst as he attempts to win his first major championship. However, he will have to hold off some talented players like Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau and more.

The round 3 tee times are below, but let’s also discuss how much carnage Pinehurst caused for some of the biggest names in golf.

So brew a pot of coffee, grab some breakfast, and settle in as we get you ready for the third round of the U.S. Open.

Pinehurst No. 2 sends some massive names home early

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf players sweated it out on Friday at Pinehurst. After two rounds of play, 20 golfers are at even par or better. The top 60 and ties make the weekend at the U.S. Open, so over half the field went home.

Popular golfers who missed the cut at Pinehurst No. 2
Viktor Hovland: 6-over, 78-68
Max Homa: 6-over, 71-75
Justin Rose: 6-over, 73-73
Tiger Woods: 4-over, 74-73
Rickie Fowler: 8-over, 71-77
Jason Day: 8-over, 71-77
Dustin Johnson: 9-over, 74-75

Check out the complete list of who missed the cut at the U.S. Open.

Ludvig Åberg aims to ma

U.S. Open Round 3 Tee Times (ET):

*Everyone tees off from the 1st tee

8:44 a.m. — Ryan Fox, Sahith Theegala

8:55 a.m. — Brooks Koepka, Francesco Molinari

9:06 a.m. — Matthew Fitzpatrick, Max Greyserman

9:17 a.m. — Justin Lower, Dean Burmester

9:28 a.m. — Tom McKibbin, Brandon Wu

9:39 a.m. — Luke Clanton (a), Brendon Todd

9:50 a.m. — Ben Kohles, Shane Lowry

10:01 a.m. — Cameron Young, Scottie Scheffler

10:12 a.m. — Tommy Fleetwood, Greyson Sigg

10:23 a.m. — Austin Eckroat, David Puig

10:50 a.m. — J.T. Poston, Wyndham Clark

11:01 a.m. — Aaron Rai, Neal Shipley (a)

11:12 a.m. — Si Woo Kim, Daniel Berger

11:23 a.m. — Matt Kuchar, Cameron Smith

11:34 a.m. — Gunnar Broin (a), Brian Campbell

11:45 a.m. — Martin Kaymer, Jordan Spieth

11:56 a.m. — Harris English, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

12:07 p.m. — Adam Svensson, Mark Hubbard

12:18 p.m. — Isaiah Salinda, Davis Thompson

12:29 p.m. — Min Woo Lee, Emiliano Grillo

12:45 p.m. — Denny McCarthy, Adam Scott

12:56 p.m. — Chris Kirk, Jackson Suber

1:07 p.m. — Sepp Straka, Brian Harman

1:18 p.m. — Nico Echavarria, Sam Bennett

1:29 p.m. — Nicolai Højgaard, S.H. Kim

1:40 p.m. — Frankie Capan III, Taylor Pendrith

1:51 p.m. — Russell Henley, Sergio Garcia

2:02 p.m. — Stephan Jaeger, Sam Burns

2:13 p.m. — Billy Horschel, Zac Blair

2:40 p.m. — Akshay Bhatia, Xander Schauffele

2:51 p.m. — Tyrrell Hatton, Tom Kim

3:02 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Matthieu Pavon

3:13 p.m. — Tony Finau, Rory McIlroy

3:24 p.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Thomas Detry

3:35 p.m. — Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Åberg

ICYMI: Top stories from the 2nd Round of the U.S. Open

Check out these stories:

Francesco Molinari does unthinkable; makes U.S. Open cut with improbable hole-in-one

Tiger Woods misses U.S. Open cut, provides update on 2024 golf plans

Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Åberg highlight 5 U.S. Open outfits we love

Sahith Theegala’s surreal U.S. Open chip-in has fans, NBC broadcasters going nuts

Rory McIlroy fails to cash in, convert opportunities in U.S. Open pursuit

Bryson DeChambeau delighted by his patience, honors U.S. Open legend in big way

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.