Ludvig Åberg earns runner-up finish in major championship debut at Masters

In his first appearance at a major championship, Ludvig Åberg captured a solo second finish at the Masters Tournament to earn his fourth top-10 and second runner-up finish of the 2024 season. The Texas Tech alum and No. 1 finisher in the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking fell four strokes short of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who claimed his second green jacket on Sunday. Åberg’s impressive finish on the leaderboard will likely earn him an invitation into next year’s Masters, as is traditionally customary for the top-12 finishers to be invited back the following year.

A year ago, Åberg was competing in his final regular season event as a senior at Texas Tech – a season where he recorded four individual victories and swept the three national Player of the Year awards (Ben Hogan, Fred Haskins and Jack Nicklaus). Fast forward a year, and now the 24-year-old’s professional resume consists of victories at the 2023 RSM Classic and the DP World Tour’s 2023 Omega European Masters, five top-five finishes, a Ryder Cup victory and a solo second in his first-ever major appearance.

Highlighting his success at Augusta National Golf Club was Åberg 3-under 69 in Friday’s second round. On a day that saw a 75.08 scoring average, the highest in a single round at the Masters since 2016, combined with gusts of up to 35 mph, Åberg posted the lowest second-round score to move inside the top 10 heading into the weekend.

In his first Masters Sunday, Åberg held a share of the lead in the final round after carding his third birdie of the day at No. 9 and became part of a three-way tie at 7-under, alongside Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa. Scheffler went on to card four birdies on the back nine to finish atop the leaderboard. Åberg posted his third consecutive round under par on Sunday, becoming the first player to finish runner-up in his Masters Tournament debut since Will Zalatoris in 2021.

Åberg’s performance at the Masters pushed him atop the Aon Next 10, and therefore gained him entry into this week’s RBC Heritage. Oklahoma State alum and PGA TOUR winner Austin Eckroat will join Åberg in the field at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (April 18-21).

PGA TOUR University Alumni – FedExCup Standings  

Korn Ferry Tour

  

Fifteen PGA TOUR University alumni will compete in this week’s LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood National Golf Club (April 18-21). Sam Bennett, Fred Biondi, Ricky Castillo, Sam Choi, William Mouw, Ross Steelman and Patrick Welch will make their tournament debuts, in addition to returning members Quade Cummins, Noah Goodwin, Cole Hammer, Logan McAllister, John Pak, Trent Phillips, Jackson Suber and Trevor Werbylo. McAllister is notably the top performer at the LECOM Suncoast Classic from past years, as he finished second in 2023 after falling in a playoff to Scott Gutschewski.

PGA TOUR University Alumni – Korn Ferry Tour Points List  

PGA TOUR Americas

Ten alumni will be in the field for the third event of the Latin America Swing. The 69th ECP Brazil Open at the Rio Olympic Golf Course will feature Ryan Burnett, Ben Carr, Reid Davenport, Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, Derek Hitchner, Tommy Kuhl, Chase Sienkiewicz, Yuxin Lin, Cameron Sisk and Travis Vick.

Hitchner, a Pepperdine alum, was one of the top contenders at the Totalplay Championship at Atlas Country Club two weeks ago. The 24-year-old was the playing partner of José de Jesús Rodríguez, who won at Atlas Country Club for the third time in his PGA TOUR-sanctioned career. Two late bogeys from Hitchner in the final round resulted in a third-place finish.

Lin leads the PGA TOUR University alumni at No. 6 in the Fortinet Cup Standings. The top 10 finishers in the points list at the end of the season will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the 2025 season, in addition to the top two finishers at the conclusion of the Latin America Swing earning conditional status.

PGA TOUR University Alumni – Fortinet Cup Standings