Sebastian Söderberg admits he has been thinking about the possibility of making his US PGA Championship debut following a flawless opening round of 63 at the Volvo China Open.
The 33-year-old currently leads the Asian Swing Rankings, which concludes here at Hidden Grace Golf Club, and the winner will gain £200,000 in prize money, exemption for the Back 9 events of the DP World Tour campaign and the top three will gain a spot at the US PGA Championship.
Söderberg was a picture of consistency with his irons in Shenzhen as he rolled in nine birdies to join Frenchman Romain Langasque at the top of the leaderboard.
He picked up his first shot of the day at the fourth before dialling in to three feet at the sixth, which sparked a run of five straight birdies.
Anyone in the Top 20 of the Asian Swing can still take the crown with all to play for at the #VolvoChinaOpen ⛳️
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 30, 2024
Söderberg was out of position at the 13th, but a superb chip from the rough salvaged another birdie before hitting an approach to eight feet to move within one of the leader.
He drifted into the rough when trying to find the par-five 17th green in two and despite hitting his approach past the hole and on the fringe, he calmly rolled in his putt to climb to the summit at nine under.
The Swede has made just two Major appearances in his career at the 2016 and 2022 U.S. Open Championship and is edging closer to earning his place at Valhalla Golf Club later this month.
"Really solid off the tee, you have to be pretty good off the tee because trouble lurks everywhere. Put myself in good positions, hit a lot of good wedge shots and scored well on the par fives, so felt solid," the Swede said.
"Patience is something I've worked hard on for 10-15 years. When I'm playing worse, that's one of the first things that takes a beating so I've just tried to stay in the present, one shot at a time. I still hit a few bad shots, just resetting every shot and not taking that into account and been kinda key.
"I guess it would be really nice. It is the first Swing I have been involved in and I'm not really that focused on putting tournaments together like that usually. But obviously it means spots into a Major, then you are paying extra attention to stuff like that. I have to take every shot for what it is and not get ahead of myself.
"Oh yeah for sure I do. Once you are on the course you block that away and take it one shot at a time. But off the course, it's looking quite good right now but at the same time, I don't want to think about it too much. It can be tricky depending where you are."
