Ludvig Aberg builds a 3-shot lead in The Players Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The biggest challenge for Ludvig Aberg was finding satisfaction in a three-shot lead Saturday at The Players Championship instead of wondering how much larger it could have been.

Aberg had only two bogeys on his card all week and was four shots ahead of Michael Thorbjornsen when he stood in the fairway on the par-5 16th hole, 193 yards away with a 7-iron in his hand. He had an 8-foot birdie putt on the island-green 17th hole. He smashed his drive on the daunting 18th that set up a 25-foot birdie attempt.

Par. Par. Bogey.

Aberg still managed a 1-under 71 thanks largely to his third eagle of the week with an 18-foot putt on the par-5 11th. He was three shots clear of Michael Thorbjornsen, a rival in college and now a neighbor in the Ponte Vedra Beach area.

“Definitely would have loved to come out of 16 and 17 with at least one birdie, and then obviously the three-putt on 18 kind of stings, annoys me a little bit,” Aberg said. “But overall, I started the day with a two-shot lead and ended with a three, so that's a positive.”

If nothing else it was reminder nothing comes easily on the TPC Sawgrass even when it looks that way, and the final 18 holes isn't always a sprint to the finish.

“It's all about executing,” Aberg said. “You're going to get punished if you don't, which is a fun way to play golf.”

Fun?

Aberg smiled and mouthed the word, “Fun.”

Aberg was at 13-under 203 and will be in the final group with Thorbjornsen, who also took up shop at the TPC Sawgrass when he got out of college. They are friends who play often, just as they did as two of the most elite college players. Both were No. 1 in the PGA Tour University ranking in consecutive years to earn PGA Tour cards.

Thorbjornsen made up ground with a 67 to land in the final group as he tries to become only the third player — and first since Craig Perks in 2002 — to win The Players in his first try.

“I don’t think I have to change too much, especially on courses like this,” Thorbjornsen said. “I think if you play some really steady golf you’ll run into some birdies. Does anyone have a bogey-free round either yesterday or today? I’m not too sure, but there aren’t many. So I think slow and steady wins the race, and we’re just going to play some solid golf.”

Cameron Young was Aberg's biggest threat on the back nine, holing a 45-foot birdie putt on the par-3 13th and getting away with a wedge he hit a little heavy on the par-3 17th. It settled inside 2 feet away, the closest shot of the day.

“I was trying to land it 133 and I fatted it just a little bit and it went to a foot,” he said.

Two shots behind going to the 18th, the closing hole ate him up. Young tugged his drive just enough that it barely found the water down the left side. He pushed his third shot into the nasty, rough-covered moguls and chipped through the firm, fast green into a bunker. But he holed an 8-foot putt for double bogey and escaped with a 72 to leave him four shots behind.

“I cost myself two off the tee and I saved myself one with the putter,” he said of the 8-footer he made. “So it could have been worse. I drew a terrible lie right of the green, somewhere that it feels like you should have a decent chance to get up-and-down. Saved myself one with the putter is what I’m going to take away from it.”

Big blunders cost so many others.

Justin Thomas, looking strong in his second tournament back from lower back surgery in November, went from the water to the rough and then over the green in making a triple bogey on the sixth hole. His tee shot on the reachable par-4 12th found the water. But he kept it together, had a pair of birdies later and salvaged a 72.

Thomas was at 8-under 208, five shots behind along with Matt Fitzpatrick (69), Brian Harman (69), Viktor Hovland (69), Corey Conners (72) and Xander Schauffele (74).

Schauffele was in the final group and managed only one birdie while hitting just eight greens. Fitzpatrick made double bogey on the 18th with a three-putt from 35 feet.

Young is at The Players for the fourth time and has never cracked the top 50, and yet his optimism was running high even after a double bogey to finish. That he felt he was still in the game said more about the give-and-take nature of the TPC Sawgrass than Aberg.

Aberg shot a 63 in the second round to take the lead. Thomas shot a 62 last year. Harman shot 64 on Friday and the best score Saturday was a 65 by Robert MacIntyre.

“Those number are out there, and no reason why I can't be the one to shoot them," Young said.

And so the final group is a pair of locals — one from Sweden by way of Texas Tech, the other from just outside Boston by way of Stanford. Neither plays the Stadium Course all that much because it's rarely in the condition seen at The Players.

But they like the Stadium Course and know their way around, just not with so much at stake.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Ludvig Aberg of Sweden reacts after missing a putt on the 17th green during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Xander Schauffele looks on on the 16th fairway during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Cameron Young reacts after a putt on the ninth green during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Michael Thorbjornsen watches his drive from the rough of the 18th fairway during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Ludvig Aberg of Sweden looks on on the 16th hole during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Ludvig Aberg of Sweden reacts after a birdie on the ninth green during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he is holding off on a military strike on Iran planned for Tuesday because “serious negotiations” are underway to end the war.

“There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I’d be very happy,” Trump said at the White House on Monday evening, after first making the announcement in a social media post.

Trump said he had planned “a very major attack” but put it off — “for a little while, hopefully, maybe forever." He said America’s allies in the Gulf asked him to wait for two to three days because they feel they are close to a deal with Iran.

Trump has been threatening for weeks that the ceasefire reached in mid-April could end if Iran did not make a deal, with shifting parameters for striking such an agreement. Over the weekend he warned, “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them.”

The president has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off. But he’s also previously indicated he would hold off on military action to allow talks to continue — only to turn around and launch strikes. That’s what happened at the war’s outset, when he ordered strikes in late February shortly after indicating he would let talks play out.

Trump said the current pause for negotiations was a “very positive development," while acknowledging there were times in the past when a deal seemed close but nothing came of it. “But this is a little bit different,” he said.

The president, who had not previously disclosed that he was planning a strike for Tuesday, did not offer details about the planned attack but said in his social media post he had instructed the U.S. military “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”

Trump said he was calling off the attack at the request of allies in the Middle East, including the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Iran and allied Shiite militias in Iraq have launched drone attacks targeting the Gulf Arab states in the war. The United Arab Emirates has recently accused Iran of launching drone and missile attacks despite the ceasefire. On Sunday, a drone strike sparked a fire on the edge of the UAE's sole nuclear power plant in what authorities called an “unprovoked terrorist attack” while not assigning blame.

Trump in recent days has also spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chinese President Xi Jinping about the Iran war.

Trump’s post quickly caused a fall in the price of oil, which had been rising on the prospect of a prolonged standoff that would keep the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed.

Minutes before the president’s announcement, petroleum futures had been trading at $108.83 a barrel. His word about negotiations almost instantly shaved more than $2 off the price, but it crept up again and ended on Monday at $107.25 a barrel.

Shortly after Trump’s post, Iranian state TV called it a “retreat” based on “fear” in its broadcast ticker and on its X account.

It reported earlier that defense systems were activated late Monday on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. It added the situation was “under control” there, the largest Iranian island in the Persian Gulf, home to about 150,000 people and a water desalination plant.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the shipment of oil, gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products. The U.S. is blockading Iranian ports and has redirected 85 commercial vessels from mid-April through Monday, U.S. Central Command said in a social media post.

Earlier Monday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the immediate concern of the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran was keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, but Iran’s nuclear program remained a central issue.

Speaking during a joint news conference with his German counterpart in Berlin, Fidan said much of Iran’s enriched uranium that could potentially be used for a nuclear weapon was buried under collapsed tunnels following attacks in June that the U.S. launched with Israel. The U.S. has said it is closely monitoring any movements around the stockpile.

“At present, there isn’t a situation that poses a real threat," Fidan said. “But for this to continue, the parties must reach and conclude a nuclear negotiation among themselves.”

The Turkish minister said he believes Iran is not opposed in principle to complying with nuclear conditions, but added: “the question is what will be given in return, in what order, and under what conditions.”

With talks at a standstill last week, Iran's foreign minister said Friday that a lack of trust was the biggest impediment to negotiations.

Iran, which says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, was said to have included some nuclear concessions in its latest proposal to end the war. But Trump dismissed the proposal as “garbage."

Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Darlene Superville in Washington, Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump speaks about prescription drug prices in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Bakhtiari nomads, wearing traditional dress, hold their guns during a pro-government gathering near the residence where former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown on a banner, was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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