Ludvig Åberg surges at World Wide Technology Championship

Ludvig Åberg shot a second-round 65 and surged into contention at the World Wide Technology Championship at El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Friday.

He was 11 under and just a shot off the lead after the morning wave finished.

The first page of the leaderboard is chock full of players seeking their first win, including Åberg, who was still in college last spring. He’s the favorite, though, a position he’s not used to.

“It's nuts,” he said after making seven birdies and no bogeys Friday. “You know, if someone asked me that a couple months ago, obviously I would not have believed them. I like to think that I prepare well for each event. I like to have fun on the golf course and, you know, whenever Thursday comes around, I like to be ready.

“But, you know, to me that's nothing that I can control, it's outside of my control,” he continued. “What I can do is prepare and play as well as I can and then see where that takes me.”

The up-and-comer from Sweden by way of Texas Tech has had an active last five months.

The first player to finish atop the PGA TOUR University Ranking, thereby earning his TOUR card, Åberg had momentum even before he teed off at El Cardonal. He’s racked up six straight top-15 finishes worldwide, including a win at the DP World Tour’s Omega European Masters. He also got a Ryder Cup captain’s pick and went 2-2-0 in Rome.

He’s 58th in the Official World Golf Ranking, up from 914th at the start of the summer. If he finishes 2023 in the top 50 in the world – a good bet if he keeps this up – he’ll earn a spot in the field for the 2024 Masters Tournament. He’s still never played in a major.

Åberg attributed his three-shot improvement Friday to pinpoint iron play and good putting.

“I feel like I keep working on the same things in my putting, me and my coach,” he said. “We don't try to change too much. Then once the speed is right, that's normally when my putts go in. I try to do the same things over and over and then keep the consistency level high.”

Beginning with his numbing consistency off the tee, his consistency level couldn’t get much higher. All that’s missing is a trophy, but one senses he won’t have to wait long.