Aberg caps off amazing 6 months with another win. Amy Yang cashes in at LPGA finale
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Ludvig Aberg added to his astonishing second half of the year when he closed with a second straight 9-under 61 on Sunday to win the RSM Classic, his first PGA Tour title to go along with a European tour victory and a winning debut in the Ryder Cup.
And to think the 24-year-old Swede was still at Texas Tech six months ago.
Not only did he win the final event of the PGA Tour season, he did it in record fashion. His final birdie allowed Aberg to tie the 72-hole scoring record on the PGA Tour, matching the 253 of Justin Thomas at the 2017 Sony Open.
His 61-61 finish set the tour record for lowest closing 36 holes, beating by one the mark shared by Matt Jones at Kapalua in 2022 and Patrick Rodgers at Sea Island in 2019.
Aberg seized control with three straight birdies, one of them when he fearlessly drove over the marsh on the 407-yard fifth hole to 30 feet, and then held off Mackenzie Hughes, who shot 60-63 on the weekend and finished four shots behind.
The victory at Sea Island moves him to No. 32 in the world. He earned a spot at the Masters, along with a spot at Kapalua in The Sentry to start the year. He also would appear to be a shoo-in for PGA Tour rookie of the year. The other top candidate, Eric Cole, played in the final group with Aberg and shot 67 to tie for third with Tyler Duncan (65).
LPGA TOUR
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — Amy Yang birdied her last two holes for a 6-under 66 to win the CME Group Tour Championship and claim the $2 million prize, matching the largest in women’s golf.
The victory was her fifth on the LPGA Tour, the previous four coming in Asia.
Yang holed out for eagle on the 13th fairway to overcome an early three-shot deficit, and then she let Nasa Hataoka make the mistakes in crucial moments down the stretch.
Hataoka closed with a 69 and Alison Lee had a 66 to tie for second. Lee was never closer than two shots along the back nine at Tiburon Golf Club. Lee, still winless on the LPGA Tour, closed out her season with three runner-up finishes on the LPGA and a victory in Saudi Arabia on the Ladies European Tour.
Lilia Vu, a two-time major champion this year and No. 1 in the women’s world ranking, closed with a 65 to finish alone in fourth and picked up a valuable prize of her own. She won the points-based LPGA player of the year for the first time.
EUROPEAN TOUR
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Nicolai Hojgaard claimed the biggest title of his career Sunday after running off five straight birdies down the stretch for an 8-under 64 to win the season-ending World Tour Championship by two strokes.
The 22-year-old Dane delivered a clinic in iron play to set up close-range birdies start on the 13th holes. He finished at 21-under 261 to hold off Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland and Matt Wallace.
Hojgaard has now won a tournament for three consecutive years on the European tour but this was easily his biggest, earning him $3 million.
Fleetwood closed with a 68. Hovland, already a winner in the PGA Tour finale, had also shot 68, while Wallace had a 69.
Hojgaard’s twin brother, Rasmus, was on course to claim one of the 10 PGA Tour cards from the Race to Dubai rankings. He hit his second shot into the water guarding the green and only made par. Matthieu Pavon followed him and hit a wedge inside 2 feet for a birdie that lifted him above Rasmus Hojgaard, who missed out on PGA Tour status by less than 27 points.
OTHER TOURS
Yuta Sugiura became the seventh amateur to win on the Japan Golf Tour, closing with an even-par 71 at the Dunlop Phoenix for three-shot victory over Keita Nakajima and Taiga Semikawa, two of Japan’s leading players who also won as amateurs. ... Gaganjeet Bhullar of India shot a 4-under 67 to complete a wire-to-wire win at the BNI Indonesian Masters on the Asian Tour. He won by five shots over Karandeep Kochhar. ... Alexandra Forsterling of Germany closed with a 5-under 67 for a five-shot victory in the Mallorca Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour. ... David Micheluzzi closed with a 4-under 68 for a one-shot victory over Ben Eccles in the Victorian PGA Championship on the PGA Tour of Australasia. ... Serena Aoki held off Mao Saigo with a 4-under 67 for a one-shot victory in the Daio Paper Elleair Ladies Open on the Japan LPGA. Saigo closed with a 65.
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