Who Is Ludvig Aberg? Meet Europe's New Ryder Cup Star

He’s the next big thing, Europe’s young gun for the Ryder Cup and a nailed-on superstar of the future, but who is Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg?

After rising through the amateur ranks in college, Aberg made a huge splash in the professional ranks on the PGA Tour before flying over to Europe, impressing in Prague then capturing his maiden pro title at the Omega European Masters.

Pulling off that victory, under the pressure of the final Ryder Cup qualifying event with so much hype surrounding him showed huge character and made him a must-have for European captain Luke Donald.

The 23-year-old from Eslov in Sweden has burst onto the scene, capturing his first tournament victory as a professional in just his ninth event in the paid ranks and just 75 days after turning professional.

Hardly anyone would have heard of Aberg 12 months ago when Ryder Cup qualification began, but such has been his impact since turning pro then he swiftly became the name on everyone’s lips – and made him impossible for Luke Donald to ignore.

Aberg swapped the snow of Sweden for the sunshine of Texas when he joined Texas Tech in 2019 and became a superstar playing for the Red Raiders – winning the Ben Hogan Award for the best men’s college golfer in 2022 and 2023.

He was just the second player to ever win the award twice, following in the sizeable footsteps of Jon Rahm, who picked up the prize in 2015 and 2016.

Aberg became the World No.1 amateur before then becoming the first ever player to go directly onto the PGA Tour from college as he finished top of the PGA Tour University standings in the first year where that feat came with the reward of a Tour card for two seasons.

Claiming his PGA Tour card made him eligible for Ryder Cup selection, and he soon set about proving he could handle life in the big leagues by making the cut and finishing T25 in his professional debut at the RBC Canadian Open in June.

He shot a pair of 65s in a T24 finish at the Travelers Championship and another one in a T40 finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic before securing his best PGA Tour finish with a T4 at the John Deere Classic.

Aberg again showed his ability to go low by following a second-round 64 with a final round of 63 to really put himself on the map and right to the top of Donald’s thinking.

His one missed cut came at the Scottish Open before a T64 and T14 at the 3M Open and Wyndham Championship concluded his PGA Tour season – following which he headed to Europe to showcase his skills to Donald first hand.

Along with his obviously golfing skills, Aberg also looks to be cool under pressure and take everything in his stride – which is why it was no surprise when he shot 68-66 playing alongside Francesco Molinari.

He was then paired with two other vice-captains Edoardo Molinari and Nicolas Colsaerts at the European Masters and rose to the challenge again opening up with a round of 64 and then closing with another to win his first professional tournament.

His victory in the Swiss Alps could not have been timed better and meant he also made it to the top of the golfing mountain by earning a coveted spot on Europe’s Ryder Cup team.

Cool, calm, and collected, Aberg looks to have the temperament to handle the big occasion but also the confidence in his game to take on the big guns and not be overawed.

And there’s no doubting that his big strength on the course is off the tee, as he’s proven to be better than anyone with driver in hand during his short spell on the PGA Tour this season.

And it's not just anecdotal evidence from watching Aberg's highlight reel either, as stats guru Justin Ray pointed out with a startling fact about the Swede's driving prowess that he leads the entire Tour in strokes gained off the tee since his debut in Canada.

Leading the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee ahead of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler takes some doing, even with a relatively small sample size.

Asked about a potential call-up, Aberg admitted how much the Ryder Cup meant to him, but also showed his maturity that he was able to just focus on his golf despite all the attention he was receiving.

"It would mean the world. As a young golfer growing up in Sweden and Europe those are the events you want to be a part of. If I ever get a chance to be part of that obviously I am going to be over the moon. It would be really cool.

"I figured a win would put me in a good position but honestly I have been doing a pretty good job of not thinking about it too much. I feel like I get reminded of it a lot but once I get on the golf course, it is just me and golf."

Aberg’s combination of stellar driving, confidence and temperament means he should really go far in the game – and could just light up this Ryder Cup in Rome.