The fact that Ludvig Aberg’s first Ryder Cup memory is the 2012 Miracle at Medinah perhaps best sums up just how young the Swede is.
The 23-year-old has gone from turning professional at the start of the year to yesterday becoming one of Luke Donald’s six Ryder Cup captain’s picks for the event this month. He is the first European since Sergio Garcia to make his Cup debut in the same year as turning pro, leading Donald yesterday to hail him “a generational player”.
Medinah and Donald, who was among the European players in what proved a stunning turnaround, are perhaps the perfect backdrop for Aberg, who is being tipped as potentially Europe’s next talisman in the biennial tournament. He has long been earmarked for the top, as the first European to be named the top college golfer in the US twice since his fellow Ryder Cup team-mate Jon Rahm.
For all his prodigious talent, Aberg is still a risk, having played just nine tour events and now going up against an experienced American line-up at the Marco Simone club in Rome.
That said, his most recent tournament saw him win the European Masters in Switzerland on Sunday, showing his cool nature in a head-to-head with Matt Fitzpatrick to birdie four of the last five holes and seal a first tour victory.
Donald singled out that calm nature when announcing him as a pick. He said: “I’ve played with a lot of contenders in the past six or 12 months, and some have not done that well with me looking at them.
“But he didn’t have any problems. He was a cool nine-under after 16 holes, like it was nothing. I was so impressed with him.”
