THE PLAYERS looked orderly, really, until the last nine holes. That’s when all the golfers who had been playing well started making mistakes and all the golfers who had made mistakes started making miracle shots.
It was like someone threw about 15 golfers onto a trampoline at the same time and just watched them being thrown into the air and bumping into each other. Some were harsh crashes and others were gentle nudges. And all around, there were the crowds cheering. It was louder toward the end than on earlier holes, but by the time the new set of leaders reached 16, 17 and 18, all heck was breaking loose. And a thunderstorm was on the way.
“The stadium atmosphere out there is unbelievable. It’s so loud on 17,” Cameron Young said about the island hole. “The way everything is raised, you just know kind of all eyes are right there on you. So, there’s nowhere to hide, and I feel like I stepped up really well and hit a bunch of good shots those last couple holes, so I’m very proud of that.”
He should be. It was kind of nuts.
After the first 54 holes, Ludvig Aberg, the cool Swede who now calls Ponte Vedra home, emerged on top. He held on for another nine holes and then things started breaking. That’s the only way to describe it. The warranty on his golf swing expired. It happens to every golfer, but his just came at a really bad time.
The 11th and 12th holes were the first to cause real problems.
“It got away from me quick there. Yeah, it was just poor swings,” Aberg admitted. “I felt like I’ve had that sort of 7-wood right miss a few times this week, on No. 4 especially twice, and it came up on 11 as well.”
He said he tried to press a little bit on the 12th by hitting driver, instead of a 3-wood short of the bunker.
“It was a poor swing, a really poor swing, and it definitely stings a little bit,” Aberg said. “I think the front nine we handled quite well. I felt like we handled it to the point where it definitely could have been few shots better here and there. It was just a disappointing back nine, and hopefully I’ll do a little bit better next time.”
He was in the lead by several shots on the front nine. But shots in the water at the 11th and 12th caused his lead to evaporate. Then there was one more bogey at the 15th and no more birdies. He posted a 76 while his two closest competitors had 68s. That was it, really.
On the back nine, Cameron Young had birdies at the 10th, 13th and 17th. Matt Fitzpatrick had birdies at the 12th, 13th and 15th, plus some bogey issues, landing him one shot behind Young.
One rather miraculous shot was Young’s drive on the 18th. It went 375 yards. Three. Seventy. Five. That’s almost four football fields. (Next time you need a good A player for a scramble, give Cameron a call!)
Sam Burns, the golfer I picked, finished tied 13th.
Rory McIlroy finished tied 46th. Scottie Scheffler was tied at 22nd.
