Published 2024-08-29 15.14
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ATLANTA. Ludvig Åberg has called in the “swing doctor” Hans Larsson for the tour finale.
And made two significant changes.
– He said himself: “If I’m going to be the best in the world, I have to do this,” says Larsson.
In recent weeks, Ludvig Åberg has been up and down in his game.
A top finish at the Scottish Open was followed by a missed cut at the British Open, 18th at the Olympics, 40th at St Jude and then second at the BMW Championship.
Notable from last week was that the close game worked better than it had in a long time; The “shots gained” statistic showed that he earned 1.17 strokes against the field in the putting and 0.47 in the game around the greens.
The explanation? Hasse Larsson has it.
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fullscreen chevron-rightnextLudvig Åberg and Hans Larsson.
1 / 2Photo: Petter Arvidson / Bildbyrån
“Looked at the statistics…”
Larsson has followed and coached Åberg closely since the years at the Riksidrottsgymnasiet in Helsingborg and now says that they have jointly agreed to make two changes.
And tune in now, because now it’s getting a little geeky…
But the one change concerns the close game and above all the putting.
– Ludde has had a tendency to ask the caddy Joe (Skovron) for help in reading the greens. It actually started early this year when he himself felt that it would be nice to discuss with him. But I saw from the stats that it wasn’t having the desired effect, so I said, “Can’t we test that you ‘commit’ to reading the greens yourself?” He works with aimpointinfocloseaimpoint, a special technique used to read the slope of the greens. and sometimes it becomes a bit difficult if there are two people doing it, because then you have to rely on that person also knowing the same number. And it wasn’t that they disagreed, but every time you ask someone else what they think, you’re also telling yourself that you’re not 100% sure of what you’re thinking.
– So he tried to start reading the greens all by himself again and that in turn made him speed up the game, which he likes, he is a fast player. It worked very well in Colorado and he said it afterwards too: “If I’m going to be the best in the world, I have to work this way”.
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full screenHans Larsson is on site at East Lake this week.
Stronger grip
Change number two is about the long game.
– He likes to hit straight shots, sometimes with a small fadeinfoclosefadeHögerscrew but usually completely straight. He really dislikes the ball leaking to the right and it has to do with the fact that the blade has tended to be a little open on the way down. This has meant that he has tried to save it by “backing off” a little, to try to close the blade later in the swing – and then the left miss comes into play and suddenly he can miss both right and left. No player wants it that way.
– So we went back and analyzed video clips from when he hit the ball at his best, including during the Masters last spring, and compared it to how it has looked now. Then I noticed that the left hand grip has become a little weaker. It’s the kind of thing that the players themselves might not notice, because it’s about small, small details. But we strengthened the grip two weeks ago, which allows him to swing a little harder. He likes that like hell.
“Always comes second”
Hans Larsson still has his base at home in Sweden and is only on site in the USA on occasional occasions.
But he has a good track record.
Every time he has been there this season, Åberg has been second (Pebble Beach, Masters and BMW Championship).
And the same thing happened in the month of May when he followed his second mentee, Madelene Sagström, during her LPGA competition in New Jersey.
Then she also finished second.
– Yes, Ludde actually joked about it when we left Colorado and said: “Damn, I always come second when you’re here”. I just: “Well, should I take it as something positive or negative”, haha… He wants to win.
That’s a terribly strong conclusion, isn’t it?
– Yes, absolutely. Then it’s a bit random and nothing to draw too big conclusions from, but it’s clear that I can come in with my experience and help with certain things. And it’s easier to do it on site than via link.
Will you be present at more competitions next year?
– We’ll see. We will make an evaluation after the season. It will always boil down to what he himself feels is best for him. I have never “pushed” me to do something, but just said that I am here when he needs me.
But you, it’s time to break that runner-up trend huh?
– I think so! Statistically speaking, he has actually underperformed a bit on the last lap this year. At the same time, he continues to give himself chances and sooner or later it hits. I know he is very keen to put himself in position and give himself the chance to win.
check The tour finale at East Lake starts tonight (Thursday) and Ludvig Åberg tees off at 19:38, Swedish time.
