| -29 L Aberg (Swe); -25 M Hughes (Can); -22 T Duncan, E Cole (both US); -19 A Svensson (Can), B Kohles, D McCarthy (both US). |
| Selected others:-15 A Noren (Swe), -14 T Detry (Bel), S Jaeger (Ger); -11 R Knox (Sco). |
Ludvig Aberg added to the astonishing start he has made to his professional career by claiming his maiden PGA Tour victory in the RSM Classic.
The Swede carded back-to-back rounds of 61 to finish 29 under par, four shots clear of Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes.
The win has moved Aberg, who turned professional in June, to world number 32 and secured an invitation to his first major – next year’s Masters.
“I’m super happy. It’s kind of beyond my dreams,” the 24-year-old told NBC.
“This is the sport that I love and the sport that I’m going to love for a very long time. Watching these events from a very young age is what I’ve done, so to see myself win is really cool.”
Aberg won on the DP World Tour at September’s Omega European Masters and was described as a “generational talent” by Luke Donald when he was named one of the European captain’s wildcards for the Ryder Cup.
In Rome, he partnered Viktor Hovland to a 4&3 victory in the opening foursomes against Max Homa and Brian Harman before the pair thrashed world number one Scottie Scheffler and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka 9&7 in Saturday’s fourballs.
Speaking after his victory at Sea Island on Sunday, Aberg added: “It validates my skillset and my capabilities. If you told me I’d achieve this a couple of months ago I would not have believed you.
“To be in this position, I need to pinch myself in the arm.”
