After profitable on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour just some months after turning skilled and enjoying a starring position in Europe’s Ryder Cup victory in Rome, LUDVIG ABERG is already pulling up bushes on the key stage, with the 24-year-old Swede wanting destined to turn into the sport’s subsequent world celebrity. Not that this coolest of shoppers getting carried away with the hype….
Though you loved a really profitable newbie and school profession, have you ever been stunned by how rapidly you’ve discovered success within the skilled sport?
I wouldn’t say stunned. I do know what my qualities are, however I believe what I’ve been stunned by is how rapidly these have proven up at this stage, because it’s clearly an enormous step up from the place I got here from, enjoying school golf within the US.
It’s similar membership, the identical ball – all these issues – however I really feel like I’ve managed to deal with all the off-course calls for fairly effectively, which has helped me to maintain my give attention to the golf course.
The most important distinction for me enjoying school golf versus skilled is simply the sheer quantity of golf you play. Though we performed fairly a busy schedule in school, it’s nothing like what we do on tour, the place you journey rather a lot, you play 4 or 5 weeks in a row and – it’s simply much more golf.
Nevertheless it’s one thing that I like and revel in. Even once I’m training, I favor to play golf moderately than hit balls on the vary, because it checks your capability to attain moderately than merely engaged on the mechanics of the swing.
You had been thrown into the deep finish on the Ryder Cup in Rome. What had been your key takeaways from that have?
The Ryder Cup was an enormous studying curve for me. I’d be mendacity if I stated it wasn’t intimidating and extremely nerve-wracking going there as a rookie, however I bought to spend time with among the greatest gamers on this planet, so I simply tried to soak all of it up – take heed to the blokes, discuss to them and attempt to be taught all I might from them. To be in that group, within the group room, and enjoying and spending time with these guys gave me an actual increase to my confidence and positively helped me to then have the ability to play good golf for the remainder of the yr.
You’ve clearly had such a meteoric rise to the place you’re proper now. Did you are feeling the burden of expectations in any respect beginning out this yr?
I believe there are all the time going to be expectations. It’s form of what you join in skilled sport. I do perceive that it is part of it, however I’m all the time going to have a number of expectations on myself as effectively. I do know what I need to obtain, so if I don’t dwell as much as that I’m going to be the primary to name myself out on it.
There’s nothing that I can do about all the skin noise, and no matter expectations different individuals placed on me. All I can attempt to do is play every event the perfect I can and see the place that takes me.
Beginning out the yr I sat down with my group and I used to be wanting on the schedule and seeing all these unimaginable occasions I used to be going to get to play in, and that was very thrilling. It was only one nice event after one other. Bay Hill, The Gamers, Pebble Seaside, the Genesis, all of the Majors, the checklist goes on.
You completed runner as much as Scottie Scheffler in your main championship debut on the Masters. What had been you most pleased with in your efficiency that week?
I had performed Augusta as a freshman in school again in 2019, so I used to be not utterly unfamiliar with the course, however the entire environment across the Masters is on a distinct scale, so I used to be fairly nervous coming into the week and I used to be positively shaking slightly bit on the primary tee!
My caddie, Joe [Skovron], is aware of Augusta just like the again of his hand, in order that was an enormous assist in figuring out the place to hit it and the place to not go, however simply enjoying there was such a privilege, and I’m tremendous pleased with myself in the way in which I dealt with it and particularly to be in rivalry going into the again 9 on Sunday.
Hitting it within the water on the 11th gap wasn’t perfect, as that misplaced me a number of momentum, however I’m pleased with the way in which I caught in there. Among the many many issues I took away from Augusta is that it’s very troublesome to drive issues and to immediately make up on your errors. More often than not you simply need to take your medication and be okay with that. However I felt like that was one of many issues I did effectively was to remain disciplined, keep on the correct facet of the pins, and hold giving myself possibilities.
That self-discipline regarded to face you in good stead on the US Open, the place you grew to become the primary rookie to carry the 36-hole lead. How did you are feeling in regards to the week at Pinehurst?
It was a terrific expertise. Pinehurst was clearly very troublesome, however I felt like I dealt with it fairly effectively. It was robust. I performed within the US Novice there a few years in the past, so I form of knew slightly little bit of what to anticipate by way of the calls for of the course. It was tremendous tough and requested a number of questions by way of strategy shot trajectories, peak and spin, but in addition by way of staying affected person.
I had some freaky issues occur, which value me a number of pictures, however aside from that, I felt prefer it was a very good expertise and one which I’ll be taught from and take ahead with me. Match golf doesn’t actually get a lot more durable than that, so I now know what’s wanted to carry out at this stage below these sorts of circumstances. It might not have regarded prefer it at occasions, however I actually loved the problem.
You appear to be ready keep answerable for your feelings even when issues aren’t going so effectively. Is that simply the form of particular person you’re?
I’m not an offended particular person. I get extra annoyed and upset with myself. I don’t toss golf equipment. I don’t throw tantrums. I get annoyed with myself if I can’t determine one thing out, and that generally holds me again slightly bit, however I’m engaged on it.
You’re not all the time going to play excellent golf, so all I attempt to do is hold my feelings intact – maintaining my highs not too excessive and my lows not too low. It doesn’t work for everyone, however that’s how I see it.
How do you are feeling about your possibilities at The Open Championship at Troon. Do you might have any early ideas in regards to the course?
I don’t know what it appears to be like like, to be sincere. We’re going go the week earlier than the Scottish Open to play it, simply to get slightly little bit of a scouting journey. We’ve achieved that for Augusta and Pinehurst as effectively. I believe it’s a great way to do it, simply to get the texture of the bottom and never be in that main atmosphere. Clearly, you’re going to need to be ready for something by way of the climate by way of wind, rain, chilly, scorching, sunny, and so forth. We don’t actually know what to anticipate, so simply be ready for something and ensure we’re prepared.
How excited are you to be representing Sweden on the Summer time Olympics in Paris?
Clearly there’s a large quantity of delight that comes from representing your nation and representing all of the individuals again residence. It’ll be a really cool expertise.
Ever since I watched Henrik Stenson and David Lingmerth play in 2016 in Brazil, I needed to be part of it. I used to be in highschool on the time, nevertheless it was an superior expertise to look at these guys.
I’ve represented Sweden at newbie stage and it’s a privilege to symbolize your nation and put on the blue and yellow colors on my bag and on my garments, soI suppose we’ll have a number of cool reminiscences for a very long time.
THE ABERG FILES
BORN: Eslöv, Sweden
LIVES: Tallahasee, Florida
AGE: 24
TURNED PRO: 2023
WORLD RANKING: 4
PRO APPEARANCES: 34 (29 PGA Tour, 5 DP World Tour)
CUTS MADE: 28
WINS: 2 (2023 RBC Basic, 2023 Omega European Masters)
TOP 10s: 10 PGA Tour, 4 DP World Tour
PRIZE MONEY: PGA Tour $10.83m, DP World Tour €639,662
RYDER CUP APPEARANCES: 1 (2023)
PGA TOUR PERFORMANCE STATS
DRIVING AVERAGE: 308 yards (twenty fifth)
DRIVING ACCURACY: 69% (16)
GREENS IN REGULATION: 68% (23)
PROXIMTY TO HOLE: 35ft (6)
PUTT AVERAGE: 1.75 (63)
AVERAGE SCORE: 69.67 (12)
WHAT’S IN LUDVIG’S BAG?
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9°)
Fairway woods: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (3 (15°), 5 (18°), 7 (21°)
Irons: Titleist T-100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50°, 54°) Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks Proto (60°)
Putter: Odyssey Works Versa #1
Ball: Titleist Professional V1x
