Masters rookie Aberg Augusta National bound for a second time

Fatiha Betscher
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Ludvig Aberg (Photo by Logan Whitton/Getty Images)

Fatiha Betscher

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Among the many rewards for Ludvig Aberg in capturing The RSM Classic were the prized two-year PGA Tour exemption and a whopping $1.5m first prize cheque, but in addition, the 24-year-old Swede is heading to The Masters.

For the player who was still in college six months ago, the Masters will be a first appearance in a major championship but as he revealed it will not be a first time he’ll have ventured down the famed Magnolia Lane.

“I have, actually have”, he responded when asked if he’d played Augusta National.

“We did a — my freshman year of college we did like a weekend trip with a couple of donors. We got to spend a day at Augusta, we played the golf course and we played the par-3 course and just had the best time”.

It’s been a whirlwind ride for the near two-metre tall Aberg, having been ranked World No. 1 as an amateur and winning back-to-back Ben Hogan awards in 2022 and this year as the best collegiate player in the US, thus enjoying the realisation that he could make the transition into the pro ranks with ease.

And when he did turn pro, the Swede continued to ride the winning wave, capturing September’s Omega European Masters, getting picked to play in the European Ryder Cup team and last Sunday becoming a first time winner on the PGA Tour.

“I started playing very well in college and I started winning tournaments in college,” he said.  “I think the whole concept of winning a tournament, I just fell in love with it. I just absolutely love it. There’s something very weird and special about it. You know, you just
want to do it again and again and again.

“Ever since when I won in Switzerland, I still live off that, and I’m sure I’m going to live off this for a very long time as well. Hopefully I’ll be able to do it again. It’s really cool”.

Aberg has also jumped 21 places to number 32 in the world in just 17 OWGR-counting events, a far cry from when this journalist was attending the Hero Dubai Desert Classic earlier this year when he teed-up as the then World No. 3073, shooting a great first round 65 but then fading to share 70th place but, in the process jumping to World No. 1964.

He was asked on Sunday in looking back over his short pro career what has delighted him the most.

“I think there’s a lot of things that stand out,” he said. “Obviously this win is going to be very high on the list, but I think the week we had in Rome was unbelievable as well.

“For me to kind of build a relationship with those guys that obviously I’ve looked up to for such a long time, to come out on top and to win and to kind of be a part of history, I guess, was really cool. And it’s really special to play in that team event and that kind of, to see that whole team dynamic was awesome.”

Bra jobbat, Ludvig and keep it going.

 

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