The tough opposition with only 20 top players to start does not stop Åberg from being high on the leaderboard after one round. The Swede came out lightning fast from the starting block, and excelled with three birdies on the first three holes.
After that, the 25-year-old cooled down a bit. Seven straight pars followed, but after a fine finish, the Swedish world number five finished the day on 67 strokes, five under par. A round that means a shared third place.
“My first time in the Bahamas”
– It’s the first time I’ve been to the Bahamas, and it’s super beautiful. So it’s been cool, I’ve been watching the competition for the past few years and have seen Viktor (Hovland) win a few times (2021 and 2022). So it’s fun to be here, he says in Max’s broadcast.
Åberg is doing only his second competition after knee surgery at the beginning of September, but shows no signs of ring rust.
– My body has been itching to play again, so it’s nice to be back, he continues.
Millions of rain await the winner
Because the starting field is so small, there is no cut, but all players can play all four days. The winner of the competition receives SEK 10.8 million.
In fact, no player will walk away from the competition. If you finish last of all, you still take home the “symbolic” 3 million kroner.
American Cameron Young leads the way at -8.