CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico — If Swedish golfer Ludvig Aberg were a stock, longtime NBC Sports golf commentator Roger Maltbie said he’d be buying as many shares as he could get his hands on.
“The power he’s got, seems like he’s got a lot of wedge game, too, and putting, he seems to have pretty much all the pieces,” Maltbie said. “So right now, I’d say he’s got the biggest upside.”
A little more than four months ago, Aberg, who celebrated his 24th birthday on Halloween, completed a decorated amateur career at Texas A&M. The top-ranked amateur in the world swept college golf’s three player-of-the-year awards and became the first player to earn Tour membership through PGA Tour University, which will carry through the 2024 season.
In just his fourth start as a PGA Tour pro, Aberg earned a top-10 finish. Two months later, he notched his first pro win, making four birdies in his final five holes to shoot 64 and claim the Omega European Masters in Switzerland.
“Playing well over the back nine gave me a belief that I can do it and I can do it on this stage,” he said after his victory.
Indeed, he can. European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald named him one of his wild card picks for Rome, becoming the first player ever to play in a Ryder Cup before ever teeing it up in a major championship. Aberg played ably, including teaming with FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland to trounce world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and reigning PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka, 9 and 7 in a foursomes (alternate-shot) match.
“I just tried to put the ball on the green and my work was done,” said Hovland of his foursomes partner’s prowess with the short stick that day.
In his next start, Aberg rallied on Sunday to force a playoff at the Sanderson Farms Championship and went low again in Las Vegas, closing with 62 to finish T-13. Is it any wonder that he’s considered the favorite this week at the World Wide Technology Championship in Los Cabos, Mexico?
“He’s just getting on his road. He’s just starting to write his history,” Donald said. “I think he’s a generational talent.”
Count four-time major winner Rory McIlroy as another admirer.
Will Ludvig Åberg secure his first TOUR win? 👀
He is the favorite this week @WWTChampionship.
(Presented by @FDSportsbook) pic.twitter.com/Zfkt6JTvAc
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 31, 2023
“Everyone talks about what a great driver of the golf ball he is,” McIlroy said of Aberg during the Ryder Cup. “But I was really impressed with his wedge play and how he can sort of control his trajectory with shorter clubs. I was on the bandwagon before. Certainly at the front of it now.”
While much of the field is trying to lock up playing privileges for the 2024 season, Aberg is joined in the field by world No. 17 Cameron Young, who is making his first start of the FedEx Cup Fall, as well as Sahith Theegala, who won for the first time at the Fortinet Championship in September, and Lucas Glover, who won twice in August.
The tournament has shifted from one sun-drenched resort destination – it previously was held near Cancun at Mayakoba Resort – to another and will be contested at El Cardonal at Diamante, the first time a golf course designed by Tiger Woods is hosting a PGA Tour event. On Tuesday, Woods paid a visit to the first course he designed, which opened in 2014.
He might want to check out the uber-talented Aberg, who has rocketed to No. 58 in the world and with another good result this week he could surge into the top 50 and potentially earn a berth in the Masters. The quickest path to a trip down Magnolia Lane in April? A win this week south of the border.
Given his meteoric rise since turning pro, no one would be surprised if he made his maiden victory on the Tour his latest conquest.
Stat
60. That’s how many PGA Tour winners are in the field. Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker lead the way with nine victories to their credit, while Sahith Theegala is the last player in the field to notch his first win at the Fortinet Championship.
Keep an eye on…
Maverick McNealy. He is making his first start since the RBC Canadian Open in June. He missed nearly five months while dealing with a left shoulder injury.
Cameron Young. He is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 17 in the world and is making his first start on the PGA Tour since the BMW Championship in August. Young is seeking his first Tour title.
