Ludvig Aberg trying not to think about unlikely Ryder Cup debut after impressive run
- Planet Sport writer
- 6 July 2023
The young Swede seems like a name totally out of left field - but results say otherwise.
Sweden's Ludvig Aberg admits he is trying to keep thoughts of making a remarkable Ryder Cup debut this year in check, despite impressing Europe captain Luke Donald at the first opportunity.
Aberg only joined the paid ranks in June but was already on Donald's radar after a stellar amateur career and appearances in professional events which saw him ranked the 11th-best available European player, according to analytics site DataGolf.
That ranking was before the 23-year-old played alongside Donald and former Masters champion Danny Willett for the first two days of the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week, where he carded opening rounds of 65 and 67.
"I got to play two rounds with Luke and Danny last week, it was a lot of fun," Aberg told a pre-tournament press conference ahead of the John Deere Classic.
"I was a little bit nervous but Luke, he was a great guy. We talked a little bit at least during the round and got to know him a little bit more.
"If you would have asked me a few weeks ago if Ryder Cup was on my mind, no, absolutely not because I was still in college and I didn't think about it.
"But obviously being in that situation a little bit more, as a competitor and as a golfer, Ryder Cup is something you dreamed of since from the first time you saw it as a little kid.
"Obviously, I would love it, but it's also not on my mind all the time. All I can do is try to prepare for every tournament and try to do as good as I can and see where that takes me.
"Sometime in my career I would love to play a Ryder Cup, absolutely."
Aberg, who faded over the weekend in Detroit and finished in a tie for 40th, is still ranked 528th in the world but is seen as such an exciting prospect that he is the fifth favourite for this week's event in Illinois.
"Yeah, that's a little bit surreal I think," he added. "I think it's going to take some time to get used to all these things, and it's a little bit different from college.
"I think the biggest thing for me that's changed is just going from week to week to week. I mean, this is only my third week, and I'm playing next week as well.
"I think getting used to being on the road travelling, finding places to eat, finding places to stay, all these things are going to get easier every time I come back to an event that I have been to before."