Masters debutant Ludvig Aberg almost pulled off the unthinkable at Augusta National this weekend.
The prodigious Swede mounted a stunning assault on the Masters leaderboard but ultimately finished second at 7-under, four strokes back of 🗹winner and now two-time champion Scottie Scheffler.
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Still, it wasn't a bad effort for a 24-year-old who only turned professional last summer and was making not just his Masters debut, but his major debut, too.
The new world No.7 contained his emotions but later admitted he was shaking with nerves during Sunday's final round.
♋“I think there’s a lot of things that we did very well this week, especially today [Sunday], because I came out and I was very nervous, obviously,” Aberg said.
💦“I was shaking a little bit on the first tee. Those are all things that I really enjoy doing. We said that it’s a privilege to be able to hit all these shots out here, and it’s a privilege to be in this position."
Aberg's bid for a coveted green jacket was derailed on Sunday after high-fiving a patron🍸 and registering a double bogey at the par-4 11th hole.
༺The Swede put his second shot in the water but rallied with birdies on Nos. 13 and 14.
𓂃“Obviously we knew that hitting it in the water on 11 wasn’t ideal, but we also just kept playing," he said. "That’s what me and my caddie Joe [Skovron] and our team has been trying to work on. Just keep playing no matter what happens.”
꧒Nevertheless, it was a sublime showing from Aberg, who was bidding to become the first Masters debutant to win since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
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He'll no doubt take comfort from the fact his second-place finish sees 🐓him and caddie Joe Skovron walk away with a tidy payday.
⛦Augusta National Golf Club announced that the 2024 Masters would have a total purse of $20 million.
ﷺ'Next Tiger Woods' Ludvig Aberg set four targets after turning pro in June and there's only one left
Scheffler captured the $3.6 million (£2.88m) winner's purse while Aberg secured $2.16m (£1.73m) for coming second.
🌼Caddies, meanwhile, usually receive 10 percent of the prize money if their player wins a tournament, 7 percent for a top-10 finish and five percent for everything else.
If Aberg abides by that general rule his caddie will scoop around $151,200 (£121,011) for the Masters - not bad for four days' work.
🌺This time last year, Aberg was still at Texas Tech and ranked number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
That was before his breakout run which saw him win on both the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour within five months of turning pro.
He then made Europe's Ryder Cup💝 winning team, becoming the first golfer to play in a Ryder Cup before playing in a major championship.
It's been a remarkable 12 months for the youngster, who admitted finishing so highly at the Masters was a 'dream come true'.
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🌠“It shows we’re doing a lot of good stuff, and obviously, finishing well in the Masters is a dream come true," he said.
꧅"Just playing here has been such a privilege, and I’m super proud of myself and the team and all the work that we’re doing.”
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