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Ludvig Aberg on the Masters leaderboard plays in the first major

Few Masters tournament newcomers have put themselves in the position that Ludvig Aberg currently finds himself in.

The 24-year-old from Sweden is alone in fourth place; just three shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler through 54 holes, powered by a 69-70 on Friday and Saturday.

He wants to be the first Masters rookie to win a green jacket since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. He is also playing in his first major.

What has worked so well for Aberg so far? First of all, while the windy conditions hurt most participants, they still remind him of his days at Texas Tech University.

More: Former Texas Tech golfer Ludvig Aberg shoots a low round at the Masters

“Yes, we actually said that yesterday, that it was a normal day in Lubbock,” he said. “Obviously we played in a lot of wind in Lubbock and yesterday was the same thing. I’m not sure if that’s really true, but I guess I’m a little used to it.”

Aberg played an excellent third round and took the lead with a 33 in the first nine rounds. He made birdies on Nos. 2, 5 and 9. After a birdie on No. 13, he hit something of a speed bump with consecutive bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15. On the par-5 No. 15, he started with an excellent tee shot but ended up airmailing the green on his second shot. His subsequent chip didn't reach the green. Another chip and a three-putt later, he fell to 2-under for the day, where he remained.

He credited his caddy Joe Skovron for this week's strategy.

“I think what me and Joe have done, we’re both very disciplined. We’re not trying to force anything,” Aberg said. “We're not trying to achieve victory and we're not trying to make decisions that will cost us dearly, I think. We constantly try to take calculated risks. I feel like we were very disciplined in achieving our goals and hopefully we can do that tomorrow too.”

Will this change of strategy come on Sunday?

“Yeah, of course keep an eye on the leaderboard and see where we stand. You can’t really play Augusta any other way, even if you had to,” he said. “I think you never try to force anything. You're always trying to get yourself in the right position and make the putts. I think that’s what we’re going to try to do tomorrow, even if we’re in the lead right away, or two or four, I guess.”

There are currently eight players within five shots of the lead, making for a crowded leaderboard heading into a Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club.

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