Ryder Cup: Who is Team Europe's Ludvig Åberg? The Swedish 23-year-old who could star in Rome
Ludvig Åberg only turned professional in June, but the 23-year-old Swede is already part of Europe's Ryder Cup team as they attempt to win the trophy back at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club; watch the 44th Ryder Cup exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf
Tuesday 26 September 2023 16:40, UK
Ludvig Åberg. You know him, right?
The 23-year-old Swedish golfing sensation? The first player to be involved in a Ryder Cup before playing in one of golf's majors? Only the second player to make the biennial showdown between Europe and the USA in the same year he turned professional?
Yet, none of this would have happened had it not been for his love of ice cream.
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Well, kind of. Golfing ability obviously comes into it too. But when he was growing up in his hometown of Eslov, it was only the promise of a frozen dairy product or other treat at the end of a round which kept him playing when a reluctant Åberg was first introduced to the sport by his father.
"I think one of the earliest memories that I had was from my dad," Åberg recalled in May this year, a month before turning professional.
"Me and my dad went out and played golf at my home club, and I didn't really like it at first, so he would always bribe me and tell me that if I stayed for another hour, I'd get ice cream or something like that."
It was football which was Åberg's first sporting love, but the central midfielder's dreams of playing for Liverpool at Anfield soon gave way to pursuit of success on the golf course as he made rapid progress with a club in hand.
After completing his education in Sweden, he followed a well-trodden path of European players to play college golf in America, enrolling at Texas Tech and rapidly made a name for himself on the US circuit.
Those four years included Åberg becoming the first player to win back-to-back Big 12 conference championships, while he completed the clean sweep of the three national accolades for college player of the year by being honoured with the Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Fred Haskins Awards.
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Topping the inaugural PGA Tour University standings saw him earn an exemption on the North American professional circuit for 2024 too and Europe Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, who played with Åberg at this year's Rocket Mortgage Classic, has long been impressed by the Swede's ability.
"We obviously knew what he was doing in the college scene," Donald said after making Åberg one of his captain's picks for this year's matches at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.
"You look at what he did in those four years and the only comparables really were Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm. He is that good.
"I really do have a lot of faith and belief in Ludvig. He is a generational player, he's going to be around a long time and he's going to do amazing things.
"If he wasn't going to play this one, he was going to play the next eight Ryder Cups, that's how good I think he is."
Donald added of Åberg on Tuesday: "He seems very unfazed. He's quite quiet, he's certainly not someone three or four months into his professional career that is going to be talking up and being a leader like that. That's just not his style.
"[But] every time he's asked a question of trying to perform he's able to step up, and I'm excited to have him on the team. I think he's just going to let his clubs do the talking this week."
Åberg has taken his college form into the professional ranks as well after relinquishing his amateur status in June, winning his maiden DP World Tour tournament at the Omega European Masters at the start of this month.
As if that was not enough to make the world sit up and take notice, he made a big impression on his Ryder Cup team-mates when they took a trip to the Rome course ahead of the tournament too, teaming with Hovland to beat Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy 3&2 in a best-ball match-up.
"[He] Probably exceeded [expectations]," McIlroy said. "Everyone talks about what a great driver of the golf ball, which he is.
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"The ball striking is incredible. 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, but certainly at the front of it now."
How much Åberg features in Donald's plans over the course of the three days remains to be seen, but the rookie who seemingly has the golfing world at his feet will certainly be the subject of plenty of attention whenever he is on the course.
He admits being part of Team Europe to take on the best America has to offer has come sooner than anticipated, yet he is taking it in his stride and is backing his cool temperament which has served him well so far to help him deal with whatever challenges the Ryder Cup throws up.
"I feel like it [Ryder Cup] has always been there and it's always been a motivation for me," Åberg said. "Obviously growing up in Europe and in Sweden, you want to be part of these teams at some point during your career, but I didn't realise this was going to be this quickly.
"I would say that I'm pretty good at staying in the moment, staying in the present and not get too high up, not get too far low and not get too far ahead of myself. I think that's one of the reasons why I was able to stand out in college in amateur golf is that I was able to have my emotion intact.
"I think these last couple of months has shown that pretty well, as well. I know there's been a lot of talk and a lot of noise that I would call it, and I've been able to play pretty good golf during that same period of time."
Watch the Ryder Cup this month exclusively live Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening day begins on Friday September 29 from 6am on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, Ryder Cup and more with NOW.
