Ludvig Aberg fired a nine-under par 63, one off the course record, to seize a two-stroke lead after Friday’s second round of the PGA Players Championship.
The 26-year-old Swede made two eagles and six birdies against a lone bogey to stand on 12-under 132 after 36 holes at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Aberg answered his first bogey of the week at the par-four 15th with birdies at the par-five 16th and par-four 18th for the lead.
“It was good, fought all the way to the end,” Aberg said.
“It was nice to birdie 16 and 18. Overall very pleased.”
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Xander Schauffele, the 2024 PGA Championship and British Open winner, was second on 134 after a 65 on Friday with fellow American Cameron Young third on 135 plus Canada’s Corey Conners and American Justin Thomas fourth on 136.
“For the most part I felt like I was in control and felt like I was attacking the golf course versus playing defensive,” said Schauffele, who found every fairway.
“It’s always easy to be aggressive from the fairway here.”
Aberg, the 2024 Masters runner-up, seeks his third PGA Tour title after the 2023 RSM Classic and last year’s Genesis Invitational.
Aberg, third last week at Bay Hill, matched his lowest career 36-hole score to par, helped by two eagles on the front nine.
He birdied the first hole from just inside four feet, eagled the par-five second from just inside 15 feet, sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-three third and curled in a 23-foot chip to birdie the fourth.
“I got off to a really nice start, made some nice putts and even chipped in on four,” Aberg said.
“It was a good day. It was nice to see those things show up.
“Even though I felt like middle-round-ish I struggled a little bit off the tee, I thought I came back into it and hit some really nice tee balls coming down the last few holes.”
Aberg, standing in a bunker, chipped in from 34 feet for eagle at the par-five ninth for only the third front-nine 29.
“I knew it was an aggressive play getting a 3-wood up there,” he said.
“I felt like I would have a chip from somewhere up there. It’s always a bonus when those go in.”
Aberg birdied the par-five 11th from just outside four feet but stumbled at 15, missing the green on his approach and sinking a testy bogey putt from just inside eight feet.
He responded by dropping his approach inches from the hole at the par-five 16th for a tap-in birdie and finished with a birdie putt from just inside eight feet.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler fired a 73 to stand on 145, one stroke inside the cut line.
World number two Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, fired a 71 to also stand on 145 and was not hampered by a back injury that forced him out last week at Bay Hill.
“I didn’t really feel anything, I woke up this morning felt fine,” McIlroy said.
“It feels pretty much there. Not all the way there, but I feel like it’s just progressively getting better each and every day.”
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Elsewhere, Australia’s Min Woo Lee recovered following a disappointing start to his second round, hitting five birdies across his final eight holes to make the cut with a two-under 70. Compatriots Jason Day and Adam Scott also qualified for the weekend, but Cam Davis and Karl Vilips missed out.
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