Golf News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

PGA Tour rookie making case for Ryder Cup

Ludvig Aberg Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

PGA Tour rookie making strong case for Ryder Cup inclusion

By Max Rego | Last updated 6/30/23

Men’s golf may have its next star, 23-year-old Ludvig Aberg.

Just last month, Aberg was wrapping up his stellar college career at Texas Tech, capturing the Fred Haskins Award as the top collegiate player in the country. Via his No. 1 ranking on the PGA Tour University Ranking — a program meant to fast-track the best collegiate golfers to the big leagues — Aberg teed it up at the RBC Canadian Open and the Travelers Championship earlier this month.

The Swede tied for 25th and 24th at those two events, respectively, showing serious moxie and tons of upside.

But his opening round Thursday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic may mark his official introduction to PGA Tour contention. Despite bogeys on his final two holes, the young golfer fired a 7-under 65 to vault onto the first page of the leaderboard.

Aberg hit 14-of-14 fairways and missed just one green in regulation, displaying total command of his game. The winner of this event will have to go low over the weekend and Aberg appears to be completely capable of being that golfer in Detroit.

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

“All in all, it’s super fun,” Aberg said after his round, via Golf Digest. “It’s so much fun to play these events and I’m looking forward to playing a lot more.”

He certainly will play a lot more of these events. Whether he takes part in one of the most high-profile events of the year, however, is a different story.

The event in question? The 44th Ryder Cup, at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy. Aberg may be inexperienced, but there is a chance he gets the nod to suit up for captain Luke Donald and Team Europe.

Per usual, the Europeans have an established core heading into the September event, one that features Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose.

Those are eight of the top 31 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, and given the depth of the American contingent, it is a group that will need to be on its A-game come showtime.

But there is an opening for some new blood. After all, the old guard of European stalwarts is on the way out, as LIV Golf’s Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter resigned their DP World Tour memberships last month, making them ineligible for the Ryder Cup. Members of Team Europe must maintain status on the DP World Tour.

Therefore, four spots appear to be up for grabs. The team is constructed of the top three players on the European Points List (currently Rahm, McIlroy and German Yannik Paul) and the top three not-yet-qualified players on the World Points List (currently Hovland, Hatton and Fitzpatrick).

If Paul makes the team via automatic qualification, Donald will likely use three of his six captain’s picks on Fleetwood, Lowry and Rose. That leaves three spots up for grabs, with the likes of Sepp Straka, Adrian Meronk, Seamus Power and Viktor Perez in the mix.

And then there is Aberg. Ultimately, this is a move that could benefit the Europeans in the short- and long-term. Marco Simone will put a premium on length and accuracy off the tee — not just one or the other — and Aberg has that highly-sought combination.

Plus, he surely will be on future teams. Why not pick him, pair him with a steely veteran such as Hatton or Rose and see what happens?

More must-reads: