There’s no fear in the eyes of the young guns.
Or in the case of Ludvig Aberg and Sam Bennett, the 23-year-old PGA Tour rookies who have burst onto the professional scene.
The duo carded matching 7-under 65s in the opening round Thursday of the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. They sit T-2 after the morning wave. The recent PGA Tour University graduates, Aberg finishing first and Bennett fifth, have taken advantage of their early professional opportunities, and they’re not the only ones to do so in the past month.
“Thankful to be able to get some exemptions and take advantage of those,” Bennett said. “I don’t know how many points I need to get for special temp, anything like that. Just trying to have some fun.”
Bennett is playing this week on a sponsor exemption. It’s his fourth straight start since turning professional. He made the cut in every one but last week at the Travelers Championship. He’s fully exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour for the rest of the year and trying to earn enough points to earn a Tour card come next season.
For Aberg, he made history as the first PGA Tour U graduate to earn a Tour card out of college. He has finished in the top 25 in both of his professional starts, and Thursday was his third 65 in his past four rounds.
At one point in his round, Aberg was 9 under thru 16 after a chip-in eagle, but made consecutive bogeys to close his round.
Taking over the lead in style 🦅
Ludvig Aberg chips in to get to 9-under @RocketClassic pic.twitter.com/MMd3qBdS9Q
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 29, 2023
“I will say my driver worked very well today,” Aberg said. “I hit a lot of fairways. On a golf course like this, you get a lot of chances when you do that, so I was able to have a few wedges coming in, took advantage of the par 5s.”
An added bonus for Aberg was playing alongside European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald. Aberg, from Sweden, is looking to possibly earn a captain’s pick for Marco Simone in Italy come September.
The hot starts for Aberg and Bennett are another sign the best amateurs can compete instantly once they turn professional. Although there’s an adjustment period to their new routines, there’s plenty of excitement for what’s to come.
“It’s just going to take a little time,” Aberg said. “I think being OK with being a little bit uncomfortable at times is going to be key. All in all, it’s super fun. It’s so much fun to play these events and I’m looking forward to playing a lot more.”
