WATCH: Ludvig Aberg breaks his driver head while attempting a shot at Valero Texas Open
Ludvig Aberg is in great form at the Valero Texas Open. At the end of the third day, Aberg is in contention to win his second title on the PGA Tour. The Valero Texas Open is being held at the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio and is among the most significant PGA Tour events before the Masters.
In the third round, Ludvig Aberg encountered a strange moment when his driver head snapped off during a stroke. This happened when Aberg hit his golf ball off the tee and onto the 17th green of the golf course with his first shot. The distance covered by his shot was 301 yards and the ball settled just 11 feet from the hole.
Watch the video below:
During the shot, Aberg was using a Titleist TSR2 head. The former Texas Tech University standout narrowly missed an eagle putt but secured a birdie with two putts.
After his driver fell off, Aberg sent for his backup driver from the locker room, allowing him to complete the last 10 holes of the Valero Texas Open with a 2-under par. He carded a remarkable 5-under 67, propelling him into the top five with a score of 6-under after 54 holes.
After the round Aberg said that the screw connecting the head to the shaft loosened. He said:
"It's on me. I should've checked. ... It was odd. It was bizarre. It was just quite surreal. At the end of the day I feel like I put a pretty good swing on it, which is all that matters."
Aberg made the cut with two shots above the threshold. He posted scores of 72 and 71 in the opening rounds. He made an impressive jump of 28 places on the leaderboard and scored 5-under to finish sixth after 54 holes, with an overall score of 6-under.
The Valero Texas Open is Aberg's first tournament as a professional in the state of Texas.
Ludvig Aberg is confident of winning at the 2024 Masters
Ludvig Aberg, ranked No. 9 in the world, has expressed confidence in winning the 2024 Masters. He has emerged as one of the best drivers in golf within just a year of turning professional.
Aberg when asked about his prospects of winning a Major championship despite never having competed in one in his career before, said, via Golf Monthly:
"I mean, I’d like to think so, absolutely. I feel like I know my capabilities and I know my qualities. All I can do is prepare for each event the best way I can and then see where that takes me."
He admitted that even he was perplexed by the success he had seen within a short span of time. He further credited his coaches for his success.
"The way I see that is my coaches doing a good job. We don’t try to change too much. I feel like the part of my game that has got a lot better is probably my short game and putting. Those things are the most important things that I work on."
It'll be interesting to see if Ludvig Aberg can trump the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy in the first Majors of the season.