Ludvig Aberg birdied four of the last six holes Sunday, making a 7-foot putt for birdie on the 18th at Torrey Pines, for a 6-under-par 66 and a one-shot victory over Maverick McNealy in the Genesis Invitational.
Genesis Invitational champion Ludvig Åberg celebrates his thrilling victory alongside tournament host Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines
Aberg, who finished at 12-under 276, won $4 million for his second PGA Tour victory since turning pro in June 2023 as the country’s top-ranked college player at Texas Tech. He was projected to move from sixth to fourth in the world golf rankings.
Aberg had shared the 36-hole lead at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance Open three weeks earlier until getting so sick he barely finished the tournament. He had to withdraw the following week at Pebble Beach with a nasty illness that caused him to lose 10 pounds.
Genesis Invitational Relocated to Torrey Pines
The Genesis Invitational, which was relocated to Torrey from Riviera because of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, gave a healthy Aberg another chance at one of his favorite courses.
“It was a great fight,” said the 25-year-old Swede, who aced the 140-yard third hole on Saturday, the first hole-in-one of his Tour career. “I’m really proud of the way I finished. It was really cool.”
It took all Aberg had. Playing in front of Aberg, McNealy birdied eight of his first 11 holes and led by three shots when he stood on the 17th tee. He finished with two pars for a 64.
“It’s more than I could have asked for at the start of the day,” said McNealy, who started five shots behind. “Ludvig played awesome. I knew with that leaderboard it was going to take some great golf to get it done.”
Genesis Invitational Tournament host Tiger Woods watched much of the excitement unfold from the broadcast booth. Woods withdrew from the tournament on Monday as he coped with the death of his mother, Kultida, last week. Players wore a red button that had the Thai symbol of love to honor her.
Three Straight Birdies Boost Aberg
Aberg, who started the final day in third place, two-putted from 50 feet for birdie on the par-5 13th, then attacked a challenging back pin on the 14th, resulting in a 5-foot birdie putt. He followed that by rolling in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 15th to tie for the lead.
After hitting his drive 317 yards to the middle of the fairway on the par-5 540-yard 18th, Aberg hit a 7-wood from 224 yards that went beyond the green, 68 feet from the pin. He chipped to 6 feet, 9 inches, and calmly holed the putt to take a one-shot lead that held up.
Playing in the final group, third-round leader Patrick Rodgers and Denny McCarthy, who started the final day a shot behind in second, took turns in the lead until the problematic back nine on the South course caught up with them.
Rodgers fell back with bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes and never caught up, finishing tied for third. McCarthy took the lead when he eagled the par-5 sixth, but after that, he had three bogeys and no birdies until the final hole for a 71 to tie for fifth.
Scheffler Rebounds to Finish Third
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who shot 76 on Saturday, was 10 shots better on Sunday. He shot 66 to tie with Rodgers at 9 under.
Scheffler’s 76 was his highest score in nearly three years. He went out in 31 Sunday with five birdies, including a chip-in on the fifth hole, and got to within one shot of the lead. But he left a delicate, downhill chip in the rough on the par-3 11th and made bogey. After holing a bunker shot for birdie on the 15th to remain in contention, he failed to save par from a bunker on the 16th.
Scheffler played with Rory McIlroy, who couldn’t buy a putt Sunday and shot 72 to drop nine spots and finish in a tie for 17th.
Knapp to Defend in Mexico
Jake Knapp is among the headliners at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, where he won his first PGA TOUR title a year ago. His tie for 17th at the Genesis was his season’s best finish.
Akshay Bhatia also comes to Mexico off his best finish of 2025, a tie for ninth at Torrey. He was fourth at Vidanta in 2023. Other notables in the field include Joel Dahmen, Aaron Rai, Emiliano Grillo, Erik van Rooyen, and Kevin Yu.
Jon Rahm holds the 18-hole record for the tournament with a 10-under 61.
