THE MODERATOR: Ludvig Åberg, 1-under 69. Ludvig, I'm sure any round under par you would have taken. Just talk us through your round today.
LUDVIG ABERG: Absolutely. Before the round started, if you would have said under par, I would have said, yes, and nodded.
Yeah, it's a challenging golf course. The wind is definitely a big, big factor. Overall pleased with the way I was hitting it, pleased with the way I was scrambling when I had to. Yeah, it's a tough test.
Q. When you arrived this week, just talk about your initial reactions to Shinnecock and how it was playing and sort of how you prepared?
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, it was my first time here. I got here Saturday night. Played the golf course Sunday for the first time.
Yeah, it's such a cool place. Massive property, quite generous fairways, which today maybe didn't feel as generous with the wind, and obviously the green complexes stand out in terms of the challenges it presents. It's a very, very cool place to play golf at.
Q. Ludvig, you were one of the few birdies on 13 today, a hole that on paper might seem easy but definitely is not playing easy. What makes that hole hard, and then what did you do to play it so well?
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, first off, you need to hit the fairway. Today I think, when we got there, it was pretty straight in, and obviously blowing that much, it's difficult to hit those fairways.
Then the green is difficult. It's sloping quite dramatically left to right. Obviously with the wind kind of in off your left on the second shot, it presents a challenge.
Yeah, I hit a really nice 3-wood, flighted through the wind, and then a pitching wedge to about 6, 8 feet, something like that.
Q. You've been hitting the ball very well recently. Even when you struggle with putting, is it more of a speed issue or a green reading?
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, I feel like since I've now played two events with this new putter that I'm using, and I've had some really good rounds that I've liked. Then at Memorial a couple of weeks ago, the only really bad round that I had with the putter was a windy day, and I felt myself getting really tentative with the speed.
It was gusting, and I was playing the wind too much. I was overplaying it. I was getting too caught up in what the wind was doing rather than what the actual putt was doing.
That was one of the things that I tried to do today before I went out is really lean forward and try to hit the putts all the way to the hole and those things. Today it paid off. You're not going to make all of them when it's gusting 40, but at least you can do is put a good stroke on it.
Q. What were a couple of the shots today that with today's conditions particularly caught your attention, that you felt like you had to kind of grind over a little more?
LUDVIG ABERG: I mean, 18's a big hole. 18's a big golf hole. I hit a really good drive and hit a really good 4-iron.
16 is a big hole today, par-5. It's probably one of the harder par-5s on the PGA TOUR or in major championships. Obviously with the wind blowing in today, it's difficult, but that's also the way it should be.
We all knew it was going to be windy. I thought it was a fair test.
Q. Wondering just about the 7th hole. I think right now just about a quarter of the field is hitting that green. Just what's the challenge of that shot particularly today?
LUDVIG ABERG: Yeah, I think I hit a 5-iron today, so it's a long club, and it's kind of cornering in off the right to straight in. Just knowing that right, you've got no chance adds to a lot of shots being played from that bunker or those two bunkers.
Yeah, I like my chances when the wind is into your face from that bunker to either of those pins. Did I hit a good shot? No. But I also knew that it was doable from that bunker rather than being on the right side. So, yeah, it's a challenging little hole.
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