Q. What was the excitement of seeing your name pop on to that leaderboard today?
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, I was walking up 8 and for the first time I saw my name on this big old-school leaderboard. It was really cool. But I still had number 8 and No. 9 coming back so I couldn't really let go. Probably the two toughest holes on the golf course today. So I still had to hit a few pretty good golf shots coming in. Luckily, I did. But it was really cool. It's fun to be here, for sure.
Q. What were some of your highlights of the round? The better birdies.
LUDVIG ABERG: So I made, I hit a really good tee ball on 12 and I hit a really good 6-iron up to 12 feet probably. Unfortunately, I missed the putt, but it was a good-played hole. So I was pretty happy with that.
Then I think I made a really good par save on 18. I missed my tee shot to the right in the rough and then laid up and managed to get it up-and-down from 140 yards. The kind of stuff like that keeps the round going. Keeps the step in your step a little bit. Pretty happy with how it turned out.
Q. Obviously tough conditions today. What was the biggest challenge with the conditions?
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, it was hard. Bay Hill is hard as it is. When you add a 15 or 25 mile an hour wind, it doesn't get easier. But it is what it is. It's going to be the same for everyone. Just try to embrace it.
Q. Winning all the Arnold Palmer stuff and carrying the bag. Getting the exemption through the Palmer Cup. What do you know about Arnold Palmer and what kind of parts of his legend do you feel being on-site this week?
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, I mean, it's really cool what he did for golf. Unfortunately, I'm too young to really experience it. But I've heard stories, multiple stories of what he did for the sport, for the game. What's really impressive is the way that he's handling everything outside the golf course. With all the integrity and the respect that he treats everyone that he met.
I would have loved to have seen him, but it is what it is. But, yeah, really cool to be here representing the Palmer Cup and super fortunate, yeah.
Q. Getting to play the TOUR events for you, obviously you want to got out here soon. What does it do for you? Does it build confidence, a comfort level?
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, absolutely. I think we've been talking about it and I think that the more of these events you play, the easier it's going to get.
It gives me a lot of knowledge about myself. Because obviously it exposes your game a lot more than a regular event does. We're playing greens that are rolling very fast. Then you got wind and you got a tough golf course. So it teaches you more about your game. I just try to enjoy it, try to embrace it and take in as much as I can.
Q. As far as your game, I guess your putting has improved a lot. When things are rolling nicely, what do you see is the strength of your game?
LUDVIG ABERG: Absolutely, I think my putting has gotten a lot better. It used to be good at times and pretty streaky. So I would always have rounds where I made a lot of putts. It's just gotten more consistent.
So I feel like my general strength of my game is probably off the tee with my driver. I like to hit driver. I hit it decent enough, in terms of the length. So I like to push it up there. When my putter is hot, it's pretty good. So just try to keep the consistency more. Improve on that.
Q. You're back at Texas and then back to Valspar?
LUDVIG ABERG: That's right. Yes, I'll be back in school next week. I have a lot of school to catch up on. I've missed quite a bunch, to be fair. But, yeah, looking forward to Valspar as well in the next few weeks.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports