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It takes years, even decades, for most graduates to climb to the top of an industry. Hurdles are leapt, hoops jumped through and learning curves overcame. Only then will strong performances lead to a rise within in the hierarchy. That’s the trajectory of most, but at just 24 years of age, Ludvig Åberg has already proven he is not like most.
The young Swede arrived as a PGA Tour member just six months ago after becoming the first player to finish atop the inaugural PGA Tour University Rankings. He had won four of his last seven collegiate events and swept the top NCAA honors by claiming the Jack Nicklaus Award, Ben Hogan Award and the Haskins Award. By nabbing all three, the Texas Tech standout became the seventh man reach that achievement.
Expectations were high for those in the know. A pair of top 25s in his first two professional starts set the stage for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, where Åberg drew a pairing with European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald the first two days. He opened 65-67 and flew onto the Englishman’s radar.
“When I played with him in Detroit, he was a cool 9 under through 16 holes like it was nothing,” Donald told Golf Digest. “He just went about his business. He made everything look very simple. He plays with good speed and doesn’t overcomplicate anything. He and his caddie seem to have a good thing going. And he hits a lot of quality shots. I could see right away that a lot of good things were going to happen for this kid.
“The first drive there was on a tricky par 4 that doglegs left. Ludvig hit it absolutely on a string on the correct line. It wasn’t easy for him. I’ve played with a lot of contenders this year and some have not played that well with me looking at them. But he didn’t have any problem.”
Donald still needed to see more from Åberg to use a captain’s pick on a relatively unknown quantity. So, when Donald asked for him to come play in Europe,…
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Source : cbssports
