Less than six months ago, Ludvig Aberg (Eslöv, 1999) was finishing his degree in Economics at Texas Tech University, west of the Lone Star State, a few kilometers from New Mexico. Today, as a professional, the Swede already has a DP World Tour title, a Ryder Cup and, since Sunday, he has also entered the PGA Tour winners' circle with his overwhelming victory at the RSM Classic in Sea Island. His career as a professional has just begun and he is already dizzying.
“On the one hand, I did not expect so much success at this point but, on the other hand, nothing surprises me. In his last year of university he had to live with many distractions and very high expectations and he continued to play at a very high level,” he recalls. Greg Sands, head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders for the last 22 years, who takes a break from his Thanksgiving preparations to attend La Vanguardia.
Although he already stood out from a very young age, it was during his four years in Texas when Aberg really began to attract everyone's attention. He reached number one in the amateur world, twice won the prestigious Ben Hogan Award for the best university player – a milestone that only Jon Rahm had achieved before – and last June he obtained the PGA Tour card by finishing first in the newly launched university program of the North American circuit.
The change from the amateur to the professional world is not usually an easy leap for many golfers but the Swede has made it in a stellar way, completing all the steps expected of him in record time. “God gave him a great talent but he has also known how to develop it,” says Sands about the work ethic of his former student. “He is not very aware of his cell phone and he is never the star of the party, but he takes great care of his body and trains like anyone else,” he adds.
In his fourth tournament as a professional, the John Deere Classic, Aberg already finished fourth and his name was beginning to become familiar among the general public, who wondered where this Swedish phenomenon had emerged from. But his name had already been on Luke Donald's radar for some time ahead of the Ryder Cup. So the Englishman called him and asked him to come to Europe to play some tournaments and be able to see him live. Aberg took a plane, finished fourth in the Czech Republic in his first contact with the DP World Tour and the following week won in Crans Montana. A day later, Donald chose him for the European team. No one had gone so quickly from being an amateur to playing in a Ryder Cup in history. In Rome he contributed two points to the victory of the Old Continent, including a record victory together with Hovland against Koepka and Scheffler (9 and 7). “He is one of those players who come out once in a lifetime. Furthermore, the more pressure he has, the more focused he knows how to be,” Sands describes him.
Aberg's latest feat (so far...) came on Sunday with his first victory on the PGA Tour after 11 tournaments. It was not just any triumph. With 253 strokes he equaled the lowest result in the history of the American circuit and his 122 strokes (61-61) on the weekend represent the best tournament finish ever. The Swedish rocket continues to fire.
