ORLANDO — Ludwig Oberg didn’t win the Ernie event, but he had his best start of the year, finishing third and closing with a 67. He didn’t rest with a sunburn, but he was ready for the home game. The 26-year-old Swedish golfer, who has a picture-perfect swing from Byron, lives just down the road from the Stadium Course, home of this week’s Players Championship. He sees Vijay Singh on the practice field there (sometimes) and Jay Monaghan in the clubhouse. He knows that every last hook bounce on the course will end in a splash.
Yes, what is true for us is also true for them. Keeping golf balls dry is a top priority at the course formerly known as TPC Sawgrass. Should Oberg forget that creed even for a moment while drowsy, his caddy will always remind him. As of this year, Oberg’s caddy is Joe Skovron. Yes, it’s the same cool-headed Joe Scobron who packed for Rickie Fowler when he won The Players in 2015. This will be Oberg’s third player. He achieved a T8 finish as a rookie in 2024. Last year, he missed out on this slot.
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Ponte Vedra Beach has had players at every position win, including Calvin Peete, Lee Janzen, Fred Funk, Tim Clark, Matt Kuchar and Webb Simpson. But let’s not forget the high-powered golfers who won there: Greg Norman, Fred Couples, Davis Love, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler. Introducing Ludwig. At 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, he’s in good form and at home.
“It’s clear what we have to do, but it’s still a course we have to get done,” he said Sunday night at Bay Hill. “You’ve got to hit the right shot at the right time. I love finishing. 16, 17, 18. You’ve got to step up and hit the golf shot all the way.”
A few minutes earlier, he had been having a good time talking to Swedish TV reporters in Swedish. Occasionally, you’ll hear the words Bay Hill, Players, Birdie here, Birdie there too. Oberg shot 12 under at Bay Hill, leaving him three shots behind in a playoff between Daniel Berger and Akshay Bhatia, with Bhatia winning.
He is not the first Swedish golfer to come to America loaded with promise and talent. Jesper Parnevik, the son of a Swedish comedian, was too much of a personality to play consistently on the PGA Tour, but it was a lot of fun to watch him play subtle golf. Annika Sorenstam didn’t need great artistry to become one of the greatest female golfers of all time. She was brutally accurate. Oberg could be the difference between the two. He is very strong, similar to Henrik Stenson, but with even better greenside finesse. These four golfers, like many European golfers, each speak incredibly accurate English. Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm express themselves artistically, in good times and bad. So did Seve Ballesteros in his own way.
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“Sometimes you can’t find an English word, and sometimes you can’t find a Swedish word,” Oberg said. “That’s a little difficult.” That must be in his head. we can’t see it.
Of course, part of the beauty of golf is that it’s a great non-verbal activity. At the 2024 Masters, Oberg won over the gallery more than his witty conversations with playing partners or conversations under the tree. He did it with a great swing, pace of play, an easy smile during good times, and a no-fuss response to unforced errors. Also, he was new. It was 2nd place in 2024 and 7th place last year.
Speaking of nonverbal communication, Woods paid the ultimate compliment to Oberg at last year’s TGL event. Oberg was warming up. Woods was walking across the court. He stopped, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and watched in silence. It’s not something he does often. When Oberg won the Genesis Invitational last year, it was Woods who presented him with the trophy.
Oberg was asked at the TGL event at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, if he felt Woods’ eyes on him.
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“I remember that,” he said. “It was a tense and stressful moment.”
In professional golf, if you are feeling nervous or stressed, something must be going wrong. It means you are aware that you are alive, that you are continuing to play, that you have a million eyeballs. If two of them belonged to Tiger Woods, that gaze would speak volumes.
Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com.
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