Over the past 12 months, Ludvig Åberg has skyrocketed to stardom. No longer the unknown amateur at Texas Tech, no longer the first player to earn status through the PGA Tour's collegiate program, but a seasoned winner.
The Swede won the RSM Classic last November after joining the Ryder Cup-winning team.
He and Viktor Hovland had a historic win over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka in Saturday's foursomes match, 9 and 7. As the former Texas Tech Red Raider continues to excel on the PGA Tour, his popularity continues to grow.
The Eslov, Sweden native will be competing in the Genesis Scottish Open for the second time this week, but he will be attracting more attention throughout the tournament than he did last year.
“It feels a bit different,” Aberg said on Wednesday. “I'm more familiar with the club now and know what to expect and what's next.”
“I still feel lucky to be able to play in these tournaments, and the last 12 months have been amazing. If someone had told me this would happen in 12 months, I'm not sure I would have believed him. On the other hand, I feel like I've always had great people around me, people I trust, people who have helped me a lot.”
Ludvig Aberg said he had carried out the same anti-early extension drills during the “long Swedish winter”.
He would put a chair against his butt and then let the chair rest against his butt while he swung on the swing.
“That’s still my tendency…I go a little bit inward and then I flip my hand.” pic.twitter.com/L2JKPmKucC
— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) June 29, 2024
Oberg made his PGA Tour debut last year at the Travelers Championship. He tied for 24th that week and has been on a roll ever since.
By the end of last year's PGA Tour season, Oberg had one win, one runner-up, four top-10s and eight top-25s. He made the cut 10 times in 11 starts. The only tournament the 24-year-old didn't play this weekend was the Scottish Open.
Oberg also won the DP World Tour title at the Omega European Masters. This victory helped him gain the favor of European team captain Luke Donald.
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Photograph: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
A lot has changed in his world over the past 12 months, but Åberg remains humble about it all and wants to keep his love for golf alive, regardless of the results on the course.
“I try to stick to that because it’s a different environment here than on tour, and I try not to think of it as my job,” he said. “I just want to be that 16-year-old kid who plays golf and loves it so much. So I try to stick to that, and I think it’s really important. But yeah, I’m lucky enough to do this for a living.”
His rookie season was special, but his second season on the PGA Tour has not been a disappointment either.
He has competed 14 times and made the cut 13 times. Åberg has two runner-up finishes, six top-10 finishes and ten top-25 finishes.
One of those finishes was a runner-up finish to Scottie Scheffler at Augusta National Golf Club in Aberg's first major championship appearance. He also finished T12 on the tough Pinehurst No. 2 course at the U.S. Open. Aberg has won just two of his three major championships so far, with the only time he missed the cut this season coming at the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
The world number four currently sits sixth in the FedEx Cup, giving him an excellent chance to play in the Tour Championship in Atlanta, where he will spend two weeks in Scotland before considering a playoff spot.
Can he bounce back from his elimination at the Genesis Open in Scotland and carry that momentum into next week's British Open at Royal Troon? Åberg will play with Hideki Matsuyama and Collin Morikawa over the first two days. They will begin their first round at 8:43 a.m. ET and their second round at 3:28 a.m. ET.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is SB Nation’s Playing Through golf columnist. For more golf coverage, follow us on @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
