Ludvig Åberg is on cloud nine right now. In fact, he’s been living the dream ever since he won his first college event.
Life got even better for the Swede at the weekend. The game’s new superstar is now a PGA Tour winner, DP World Tour winner and a Ryder Cup winner. He’s not even played a Major championship.
“I still pinch myself in the morning when I wake up to kind of realize that this is what I do for a job. It's been so much fun,” he said.
“These experiences that I've had over the last six months has been beyond my dreams and I'll never forget it.”
His first PGA Tour victory, which came at the RSM Classic, was rarely in doubt – and it had been on the cards for some time, pretty much since he made his professional debut at the RBC Canadian Open.
Åberg’s last five starts on the PGA Tour read 1st, T10, T13, T2 and T14. To say that he has been trending in the right direction would be an understatement – it was really just a matter of whether his first victory would come pre or post Christmas.
“I'm not sure I'm ever going to be able to put that into words,” the 24-year-old said after shooting a second successive 61 to win by four shots.
“You know, there's a lot of people I want to thank that are close to me. It wouldn't have been possible without them.”
One of those close to the Swede is fellow countryman Peter Hanson, who has become something of a mentor for the man from Eslov.
“He's been there, he's done that, he's won big events and played in Ryder Cups,” Åberg said of his compatriot, a six-time winner on the DP World Tour.
“I think just his demeanor and small little things here and there that he can teach me. I try to do as much as he says. If he tells me something, I'll try to do that. He's a great mentor.”
Let’s remind ourselves of Åberg’s rapid ascent. After rising through the amateur ranks in college and starring for the Red Raiders, the Texas Tech alumni turned professional in June 2023.
Just 75 days later, he claimed his first win as a professional, overhauling Matt Fitzpatrick in dramatic fashion to win the DP World Tour’s Omega European Masters in Switzerland.
Luke Donald liked what he saw – and just a few weeks later, Åberg was playing in the Ryder Cup. The sky is very much the limit for this frightening talent.
“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,” he said.
“Hopefully I'll be able to do it again. It's really cool.”
Åberg’s victory at Sea Island gets him into the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational, and he’ll then get to make his Major Championship debut at Augusta National next April.
“If you would have told me this a couple months ago, I would not have believed you,” he said. “It makes me emotional to think about it, but it's really, really cool.”
It’s been cool to watch, too, and there’s more to come this year before Åberg pops the clubs away for Christmas.
Åberg, who is in the process of moving to Florida to share a house with fellow professional Vincent Norrman, another of the game’s rising stars, will tee it up alongside Madelene Sagström at the Grant Thornton Invitational in a little over two week’s time.
Then it's back home to Europe for Christmas. Not long after that, and the chat will surely start around his chances of winning a Major Championship in his first attempt.
