There was absolutely nothing to complain about when Ludvig Åberg began the second day of play at TPC Sawgrass, the classic course that is now also his home course in Florida.
The play from tee to green was top class. And on the greens, Åberg sank everything early. He birdied the first, eagled the second and added birdies on the third and fourth.
Everything looked so simple.
And it got even more fun when Åberg sank a chip for another eagle on the ninth hole.
Record score
29 strokes – seven under par – tied the record for the first nine holes of The Players. Only Martin Kaymer (2014) and Dustin Johnson (2022) have had a lower score.
The historic blistering start also sent Ludvig Åberg to the top of the leaderboard, at a total of -10 and in a shared lead with American Xander Schauffele.
Åberg made another birdie on the eleventh, but also ran into a bit of trouble here and there on his way to the clubhouse. On hole 15, it led to his first bogey of the day when he duffed a chip from a difficult position.
But Åberg finished the round in the same high standard as he started it, with birdies on holes 16 and 18. He shot 63 strokes on the round – one stroke off the course record – and the 26-year-old leads at -12, two strokes ahead of Schauffele.
Alex Norén, the tournament's second Swede, is 28th at -2 after starting with two rounds of 71.
Stenson won in 2009
Last week, Ludvig Åberg finished tied for third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. His performance so far in The Players is further proof that he has truly found his form after a questionable start to the season.
Henrik Stenson won The Players in 2009, Sweden's only victory to date in the major competition that is sometimes called "the fifth major".
The winner will receive a prize check equivalent to 42 million kronor ($4.5 million).
