Ludvig Aberg is coming. That much has been made clear. Following his win at the European Masters a few weeks ago and his selection as a captain’s pick on the European Ryder Cup team by Luke Donald, hopes were high for his BMW PGA Championship showing at Wentworth Club this week.
Thus far, he has exceeded them.
Following a 68 on Thursday in Round 1, he shot a 66 in Round 2 (with a double!) to grab a share of the 36-hole lead with fellow Swede, Sebastian Soderberg. And Aberg did it all in front of two playing partners you may have heard of, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland.
The 66 on Friday was a show. Eight birdies, including this hole-out chip on No. 14, helped him put together a 34 on the front and a 32 on the back to get into the lead:
“Normally I would have putted it, but I had my pitch mark right in my line so I couldn’t putt it,” Aberg said of the chip. “So I had to chip it over. It came out a little bit hot … luckily it went in, and it was quite a cool experience.”
There are a few players still out on the course after play was suspended for darkness, but it is unlikely that anyone catches Aberg as the Round 2 co-leader; he will likely begin Round 3 with Soderberg, clear of the rest of the field.
“I thought it was great,” Aberg said of his performance on Friday. “It showed that even though I wasn’t as sharp off the tee as I would want, I still was able to find a good score. Really pleased with the way I hit my irons and my wedges. Gave myself a lot of chances. Pin high a lot today, which tells me that I was striking the ball quite well. Looking forward to the next couple of days, it will be a lot of fun.”
Can you imagine the hype if Aberg were to win his last two starts before the Ryder Cup, including the premier tournament on the European Tour?
All of it has been part of a special run for Aberg over the last several months. Since the Masters, he has accomplished the following:
- Win at the Big 12 Championship
- Win at the NCAA regional
- Sweep of the Ben Hogan Award, Haskins Award and Jack Nicklaus Award
- No. 2 driver in the world (min. 20 measured rounds) behind only Scottie Scheffler
- Win at the European Masters
- Named to the Ryder Cup team
- Shooting a 68-66 on McIlroy and Hovland in one of the biggest and most important tournaments in the world
An astonishing run for somebody who was playing college golf this time eight months ago.
And while the Ryder Cup will be the highlight of his 2023, a win this weekend at Wentworth would both be the biggest (by far) of his young career and add to the hype and the substance of somebody who is clearly becoming one of the best players in the world.