Ludvig Aberg rallies down the stretch at Torrey Pines to win the Genesis Invitational

SAN DIEGO: Ludvig Aberg returned to Torrey Pines in far better health and showed it Sunday when he birdied four of the last six holes, including a 7-foot birdie on the 18th, for a 6-under 66 and a one-shot victory over Maverick McNealy in the Genesis Invitational.

Aberg shared the 36-hole lead at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance Open three weeks ago until getting so sick he barely made it through the tournament and had to withdraw the following week, a nasty illness that caused him to lose 10 pounds.

The Genesis Invitational relocated to Torrey from Riviera because of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, and Aberg made good on another chance at one of his favorite courses.

The Swede said he turned to caddie Joe Skovron on one of the final holes and said, “This Sunday is a lot more fun than the last one we had.”

“It was a great fight,” Aberg said. “I’m really proud of the way I finished. It was really cool.”

This took all he had. McNealy birdied eight of his opening 11 holes and led by three shots when he stood on the 17th tee. He finished with a pair of pars for a 64.

Tournament host Tiger Woods watched a lot of the action unfold from the broadcast booth. Woods withdrew from the tournament on Monday as he coped with the death of his mother, Kultida, last week. Players wore a red button that had the Thai symbol of love to honor her.

Aberg two-putted from 50 feet for birdie on the 13th, attacked a daunting back pin on the 14th to 5 feet for birdie and rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 15th to tie for the lead. From the middle of the fairway on the par-5 18th, he hit 7-wood long, some 70 feet away, rolled that down to just under 7 feet and calmly holed the putt.

“It’s more than I could have asked for