Ludvig Aberg makes waves with a promising PGA TOUR debut during round 1 at RBC Canadian Open

TORONTO, Ont. – Ludvig Aberg stepped to the 10th tee at Toronto’s Oakdale Golf and Country Club a tick before 7:45 a.m. on Thursday and roasted an iron 248 yards down the hill and into the fairway.

So began his highly anticipated PGA TOUR career.

Aberg is the first player to earn direct access to the PGA TOUR via PGA TOUR U, the program that recognizes the top seniors in the collegiate game. He finished his career at Texas Tech last month as the No. 1 player in both PGA TOUR U and World Amateur Golf Ranking, and the only back-to-back Hogan Award winner besides Jon Rahm.

Aberg did not disappoint in his debut, shooting 3-under 69 in his first round as a PGA TOUR member. He was tied for 10th as the morning wave wrapped up.

“I was nervous. I mean, I think it would have been weird if I wasn't nervous. But I tried to embrace it,” Aberg said. “I tried to view it as something fun.”

Aberg certainly got off to a fun start Thursday, making his first birdie as a PGA TOUR member on the par-5 12th at Oakdale before adding three circles in a row on his scorecard on Nos. 16-18. He made two bogeys on the front nine (his second nine) before making birdie on the par-5 seventh.

Aberg was grouped with a pair of European Ryder Cuppers in Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton – a duo Aberg said was “great” – and Fitzpatrick was quick to heap praise on the young Swede.

“He's impressive. Drove the ball very, very well. And yeah, he's a good player. I'm very excited that he's a European,” Fitzpatrick said with a smile.

Indeed, Aberg – long known for his prowess off the tee – continued to showcase that as a strength Thursday. He ranked first in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee through the morning wave. Couple that with being eighth in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green, and it all added up to a very solid debut.

“Got off to a good start on the (back) nine. The (back) nine is a little easier, so you have a few more wedges and a few more opportunities. So, I took advantage of it and I feel like I played pretty solid all day so I’m really happy with it,” Aberg said.

The Canadian crowds, Aberg said, have been welcoming and supportive of him so far this week (with a laugh, he told the Canadian media that it’s no surprise, since Sweden has long been good to the Toronto Maple Leafs, providing the team with lots of star players in its history) and even when he was up early this morning to make his opening tee shot, there were plenty of cheers.

“It was so early in the morning I was barely up,” Aberg said with a smile. “But it was good. I was nervous, but I tried to embrace it, tried to have fun with it and it turned out pretty good. I hit the fairway at least, so that was good.”

Aberg is firmly in the mix after one round and was just two shots back of the lead as the afternoon wave kicked off in Toronto. He’s got a long way to go if he wants to win his pro debut, but at least he’s got a little recent motivation to lean on in Rose Zhang. Zhang, who captured her maiden LPGA Tour title last week in her pro debut (the first woman to pull off the feat since 1951), had long impressed Aberg while the two were both in college.

Aberg left Texas Tech with the most wins in program history, while Zhang did the same at Stanford.

“Rose is an unbelievable player and what she did is very special,” Aberg said. “If I'm anywhere along those lines I'm pretty happy. So obviously she's done a tremendous job and she's going to have a great career.”

Aberg’s PGA TOUR career got started Thursday, and what a solid start it was.