Ludvig åberg keeps pace with 17 greens in regulation at PGA Championship
ludvig åberg turned Friday into position. He made just one bogey and hit 17 greens in regulation at Aronimink Golf Club, then left the PGA Championship with a real path into the weekend. The leaderboard stayed tight around him, and his ball-striking kept him in the hunt for the Wanamaker Trophy.
Aronimink Golf Club Puts Pressure On
The setup in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, kept scores in check and tightened the chase further after another difficult day. At the end of Round 2, Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley shared the lead at 4-under par, while 21 players in the 156-player field were under par and no one was more than eight strokes off the lead.
Åberg’s spot in that cluster came from a sharp tee-to-green round. He ranked fifth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and fourth in Approach through Friday, which gave him the kind of base that can survive a demanding championship venue even when the putter is not carrying the load.
Åberg’s Long PGA Championship Wait
That is a different place than he started the week. Entering the PGA Championship, Åberg had never made a cut in the event in his young career, and he was listed at +7600 on Thursday night. The turnaround came fast: one clean scoring card with only a single bogey, plus 17 greens in regulation, moved him from long-shot status into contention.
His putting remained the weakest part of the week, so the margin for error was not built on everything clicking at once. It was built on enough control from tee to green to keep the round from slipping away while the rest of the field fought the same course.
Maverick McNealy And Alex Smalley Lead
The top of the board still belongs to McNealy and Smalley, and that makes Åberg’s Friday even more useful. With the leaders only one shot clear and a compressed field behind them, a strong weekend can still change the title picture quickly. If conditions soften, Åberg has the full arsenal to take flight and post a number that others may not be able to match.
That leaves him exactly where he wanted to be after two rounds: inside the group that can still win, instead of chasing from too far back. The weekend at Aronimink will reward the players who keep finding greens, and Åberg has already shown one round that can travel with the leaders.
