Ludvig Åberg shines in first start since Ryder Cup debut

It is about 5,300 miles to get from Rome, Italy, to Jackson, Mississippi. Ludvig Åberg made it seem much closer than that, given how well his game traveled from the Ryder Cup to the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Åberg, who topped the PGA TOUR University rankings to earn PGA TOUR status and who made his TOUR debut as a pro at the RBC Canadian Open, notched his best-career PGA TOUR result Sunday, falling just short in a five-way playoff at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

The big Swede’s previous-best finish was a tie for fourth at the John Deere Classic earlier this summer, and the day before he earned one of Luke Donald’s captain’s picks for the European squad he won on the DP World Tour at the Omega European Masters.

Åberg made a splashy debut at the Ryder Cup, going undefeated in Foursomes with FedExCup champ Viktor Hovland as Team Europe defeated the U.S. side 16.5-11.5.

But that, the Italian beer, the suit-and-tie gala and the team bonding, was last week. How was his game going to travel across the Atlantic and inside the ropes of the PGA TOUR – a pretty lonely spot to be at times?

Pretty darn well, it turns out.

“For me to kind of come over here to play after Rome was something that I wanted to do, and obviously I think the round on Thursday kind of set the pace a little bit,” said Åberg, who shot an opening-round 67. “It was nice to see a good score coming in, and then I just kept going.

“I feel like I’m playing well. I’m swinging it nice.”

Åberg started his day with two birdies in his first three holes. He added another on the par-4 sixth before making eagle on the par-5 11th (after a 344-yard drive) and a final circle on the scorecard on No. 15.

It was another one of those weeks where Åberg was dialed in. He finished led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and was fourth in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee.

“I felt like yesterday and today I was hitting it a lot better. Yesterday especially with the wind being pretty tough, and today the wind was kind of all over the place at times […] but felt like I did a great job of keeping myself in it and focusing on every shot that I had in front of me,” Åberg said. “It was a solid day’s work.”

Aberg finished the week at 18 under, tied with Scott Stallings, fellow Swede Henrik Norlander, Ben Griffin, who had an 8-foot putt to win in regulation, and winner Luke List, who nailed a 43-foot birdie on the first playoff hole to take the title.

“I thought whenever I was on the golf course that 18 wasn't going to make it,” admitted Aberg. “It ended up the way it did, and I was very fortunate for that. But congrats to Luke for that last putt. It was unbelievable. Kudos to him.”

Despite the whirlwind week in Rome, Åberg had a lot to play for through the FedExCup Fall. He is teeing it up at the Shriners Children’s Open next week in Las Vegas as well, as he is keen for a variety of positive scenarios to unfold with respect to his 2024.

Åberg jumped to No. 113 in the FedExCup standings with his result in Jackson, a helpful finish as he looks to get into the top 125 – earning a spot in THE PLAYERS in the process and improved status. He currently has status for 2024 based on topping PGA TOUR U but finishing in the top 125 at the end of the FedExCup Fall will mean he will be fully exempt and avoid re-shuffles.

He is also marching towards being ranked inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Åberg is currently ranked No. 80 – and that will be bumped come Monday when the results are updated – and a TOUR win or another collection of good results that move him inside that top-50 mark will mean a spot in next April’s Masters – his first-career major start.

He said he was watching the leaderboards Sunday since he is the kind of guy who likes to know where he is sitting, especially as the tournament comes down to the wire. Åberg birdied four of his last five holes on the DP World Tour when he won in Switzerland and feels it’s “vital” to know what you need to know if you’ve got a chance to win a tournament.

“I think playing those last couple of holes when you're in contention, when you're close to the lead or chasing down the lead, it's the most fun you'll ever have on the golf course,” Åberg said.

“Obviously didn’t quite make the birdies down the last couple of holes that I needed […] still proud of the effort today.”

Sunday night won’t quite be the same kind of celebration as the Sunday prior, but it’s still a result worth being thrilled about.