Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who played on Europe’s winning Ryder Cup team before competing in a major and captured his first PGA Tour title in November, said on a Eurosport podcast that he is “super confident” in his decision to play on the PGA Tour rather than the LIV Golf League that is run by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Aberg, 24, said he received the latest LIV offer after finishing his rookie season with a victory in the RSM Classic, where he shot 61-61 on the weekend.

The news of Aberg’s decision comes in the wake of Jon Rahm leaving for LIV, along with a couple of other high-profile PGA Tour players rumoured to be going to the upstart circuit—World No. 4 Viktor Hovland and Tony Finau—saying they were staying.

In translated text from the podcast interview, Aberg said, “There were a number of red flags, which is not good. We realised that I could potentially burn a lot of bridges, and I wasn’t interested in that. When I look back, I am very confident in my decision. I will never chase money; what I do is compete. I did the right thing.”

Of course, others, such as Rahm and Brooks Koepka, have taken similar stances, only to eventually leave the tour for LIV.

“I want to play against the best, because I am a competitive person and like to compete against the best players,” Aberg said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that at the moment, it’s a bit more fragmented.”

“When I look at the PGA Tour and the competitions there, there is so much history around all the competitions. And that’s what I like, that’s what I go for. But then you have to respect everyone’s decisions.”

A Texas Tech product who was the first player to earn his card by being No. 1 in the PGA University standings, Aberg showed potentially transcended talent by notching eight top-25 finishes in 11 starts. After going 2-2 in the Ryder Cup, his season built to a crescendo with a runner-up in the Sanderson Farms Championship and four-shot victory in the RSM, at which he scored 29 under for the week.

Image: Ross Kinnaird

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Sunday, at the RSM Classic, Aberg climbed to the next step: He is now a PGA Tour winner. With a final round 61 to match the same score on Saturday, Aberg finished at 28 under, three clear of Mackenzie Hughes, who kept it interesting with a 63 of his own. The most notable vanquished foe, however, wasn’t Hughes, but Eric Cole—the 35-year-old who came into the week as the apparent frontrunner in the Rookie of the Year race. With a deeper resume than Aberg’s, nothing but a win from the Swedish phenom could have changed the outcome, but win is exactly what he did, and it now appears overwhelmingly likely that Aberg—the only rookie to score a win this PGA Tour season, not counting opposite field events—will take home the Arnold Palmer Award.

“If you told me this a couple months ago, I would not have believed you,” he said moments after his victory. “To be in this position, I need to pinch myself in the arm…this is beyond my dreams…it’s been six months that I’ll never forget. It’s just what you dream of as a kid, this sport that I love and this sport that I’m going to love for a very long time.”

Aberg held the lead on Friday night and again Saturday night, and if there was ever a sense that he might play cautiously with a lead, he dispelled that instantly on Sunday, holing an 11-foot birdie putt. He followed that with three consecutive birdies on 4, 5, and 6, burying a 32-foot on five after driving the green with a 335-yard smash:

He does it again ?

Ludvig Åberg drives the green on No. 5 for the second time this week @TheRSMClassic. https://t.co/0QDTkBGvHd pic.twitter.com/84N20bHdTn

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 19, 2023

The putter stayed hot at the turn, with three more birdies from 9 through 11, and his only hiccup came with a bogey at 12. Two straight pars gave Hughes a bit of hope, but Aberg wasn’t done scoring. A simple up-and-down birdie on the par-5 15th gave him a two-shot cushion, and two more bombs on 17 and 18—25 feet and 20 feet—capped off a stunning day on the greens. When the final putt dropped, he lifted a leg and punched the air, electrifying the sleepy Barrier Islands crowd at the finish.

In just his 11th professional PGA TOUR start, Ludvig Åberg wins @TheRSMClassic ? pic.twitter.com/R4jDtDYhsS

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 19, 2023

“61-61?” Hughes asked him on the green, smiling at the winner. “That’ll work.”

“To be honest, I feel like I’ve been striking the ball quite well over the last couple of months,” Aberg said afterward. “It’s just one of those weeks where everything kind of comes together. I made a few putts here and there that are very important…obviously today Mackenzie and I played some really good golf. He really pushed me and I think I pushed him as well.”

He also explained his aggressive attitude, which did not come without its share of nerves.

“There’s a lot of these scenarios running through your head, am I going to win it, am I not going to win,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of experience over the last few months to kind of prepare me for those moments. I try not to get ahead of myself. Even though you’re playing with the lead on a golf course like this, you still need to make birdies, you still need to chase. Obviously Mackenzie did that as well.”

With the chase mentality, Aberg never relented, and his win in Georgia moves him into the top 60 of the FedExCup standings, jumping more than 40 spots. That’s significant—it means he gains entry into the first two signature events of next season, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational. Needless to say, he also gains entry into the Masters, which will be his first major championship—perhaps the next step on his ascent.

If majors are the next big target, Aberg’s fans will be pleased at the mature perspective that belies his 24 years.

“Sometimes, my tendency is to get more stuck in the past more so than the future,” he said. “I tend to get more disappointed and frustrated with myself more so than getting angry. I never get angry, but I do get disappointed and that kind of lingers. So I think this week I did a really good job of letting that go. Even though coming down the last couple holes, obviously all these scenarios are running through my head of what’s it going to look like on 18, what’s Mackenzie going to do, is he going to charge me…breathing really helps to kind of calm you down.”

Aberg went on to thank his college coach, his Swedish mentor Peter Hanson, and others who helped him on the rise that came with shocking speed. This feels like the very start of a special career, and for those in America who are just getting to know him, he also displayed a subtle sense of humor; when a writer commented that he was “a long way from Lubbock” in his career, Aberg shot back, “everything is a long way from Lubbock.”

He can laugh, he can smile, and he can enjoy this win. Aberg has the entire golf world at his fingertips, and like the blue sky in an endless Swedish summer, his ceiling seems limitless.

Image: Alex Slitz

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Previously, that list was locked at the Wyndham Championship in August, but this year, among the Spanish Moss, players are competing for tour cards, for entry into the “Next 10” category from positions 51-60 (which grants exemption into the first two signature events next year), and to join the tour from the temporary non-member list. The only thing set heading into this weekend was the Top 50, who are guaranteed entry into all elevated events in ‘24.

With that context in mind, the conclusion of play on Friday (after a rain-soaked Thursday) clarified a complicated picture … at least somewhat.

Among the most intriguing stories is Peter Kuest, a special temporary member who needs to finish with more points than the No. 125 on the FedEx Cup list to gain full membership next season. Coming in, Kuest was 155 points shy of that mark, which would require a high finish, likely a two-way tie for third or better. He’s still a long way from achieving that, but he’s off to a brilliant start, and his 66 on Friday set him up at T-5 heading into the weekend. Kuest, a 25-year-old Fresno, Calif., native, has caught fire in recent weeks, posting top-20 finishes in three events, including a T-4 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, to put himself in this position.

In the battle for tour cards—numbers 126 through 150 still get conditional status—it’s been a curious two days in Georgia, where only one player climbed into the top 125, and only fell out. Maverick McNealy finished birdie-eagle to post 67 and is tied for 22nd, moving him up from 127th to a projected 121st. Troy Merritt, who began the week at 123rd, missed the cut by three shots and now sits outside the bubble at No. 126.

At six under, Carl Yuan (projected 120th) and Nico Echavarria (118th) have both improved their position and given themselves a slight weekend cushion inside the top 125, but otherwise, movement has been minimal.

There’s still plenty of time, though. Doug Ghim (projected 125th), Matti Schmid (123rd) and Peter Malnati (122nd) are among the last five projected qualifiers who missed the cut at the RSM, putting their chances in jeopardy if players such as McNealy can hold steady over the weekend. Other outside-the-bubble hopefuls, such as Ryan Moore (projected 128) and Austin Smotherman (projected 133), have also put themselves in position to spoil someone’s party and crack the top 125.

On the flip side, Henrik Norlander (127th) and Ryan Palmer (131st) have cost themselves any chance of a late surge by missing the cut, and C.T. Pan’s withdrawal while standing at 129th, doomed his chances. All three will have to settle for conditional status next season.

In the fight for the Next 10, which confers entry into the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, both signature events, Ludvig Aberg continued his impressive rookie year by posting a 64 to take the outright tournament lead at 11 under. That has raised his position from 96th to start the week to 56th in the projected standings.

Aberg, 24, is playing in his 13th tour event, and he recently made the playoff at the Sanderson Farms Championship won by Luke List. Along with a top-10 at the John Deere and a solid showing for Europe in the Ryder Cup, the Swede’s stock continues to rise, and a win at the RSM would not only get Aberg into the two signature events but secure his status for two years.

Eric Cole hits from the 17th fairway during the first round of the RSM Classic – Sam Greenwood

“I feel like I’ve been striking the ball quite well,” he said on Friday, “which obviously is nice in the wind, which is quite tricky to kind of maneuver. I made a few par putts today; I made a [10-footer] for par on 1 and then it’s nice to get those momentum putts and to keep the round going a little bit. There’s no guarantees, but if I keep doing what I’m doing today, I like my chances.”

The other major drama at the RSM is the race for Rookie of the Year, which is seen as coming down to Aberg and Eric Cole. And although Aberg has been the star of the show, Cole is only a shot behind, in a three-way tie for second after two straight 66s.

“It would be awesome,” Cole said, of the prospect of winning the award. “It’s something you only get a chance to win once, which is kind of a unique thing in golf. To win that would be incredible.”

Cole, a seasoned rookie at age 35, joked that he might have more experiences than the others he’s competing against. He’s posted six top-10s already this season, and like Aberg, made a playoff (the Honda Championship), and his top-50 status is already secure. But he, too, is seeking his first tour win.

If Aberg moves into the Next 10, someone has to move out, and the disadvantaged party in Georgia is J.J. Spaun, who nevertheless made the cut at four under to keep his hopes alive. Spaun will have to overtake two players on the weekend to get back inside the top 60, and his nearest competitors are Stephan Jaeger, Alex Smalley, List, and Nick Hardy, all of whom made the cut.

Further down the list, Stewart Cink (T-32) and Kelly Kraft (T-10) have played themselves into conditional status, while Webb Simpson and Charley Hoffman have fallen outside the top 150; though, unlike Simpson, Hoffman made the cut. Luckily for Cink and Simpson, they have status next year regardless, but Hoffman and Kraft are not so fortunate.

A long weekend looms, and plenty of drama is still to play out in the Barrier Islands. Each scenario at the RSM is of the moving variety—point values change, players rise, players fall. It’s both what makes the final event of the season so exciting, and so nerve-wracking; the future can, and often does, hang on a single hole, and even a single putt.

Main Image: Alex Slitz

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After that, most of us old dogs would be popping Advil and icing our lower lumbars, but Aberg instead hopped on a jet to Mississippi, where he’ll tee it up at the Sanderson Farms Championship on Thursday. Despite the emotions and jet lag, however, the former Texas Tech star looked no worse for the wear during his practice round on Wednesday, revealing his celebratory dinner plans for the evening:

Chipotle.

“I haven’t been in America in like eight weeks, so [I’m] definitely going to have Chipotle tonight. I haven’t had that in forever, so I’m looking forward to that.”

What is it with these guys and Chipotle!? They’re all full-bore ’Potle junkies. Hovland even celebrated his Tour Championship win back in August with chips and guac. Aberg was just in Rome for goodness’ sake. There’s this new-fangled thing called Italian food everyone is talking about. We hear it’s pretty good!

But hey, to each their own. We’re glad Aberg is back in the culinary hotbed of Jackson, Mississippi, and enjoying every minute of it. Maybe that hot salsa is the perfect Ryder Cup pick-me-up and contend down the stretch this weekend.

Main image: Ramsey Cardy

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Aberg will have plenty of solid competition also fighting for the win as many in the field, including Emiliano Grillo, Tom Hoge, Lee Hodges and Lucas Herbert, are trying to earn crucial FedEx Cup points to keep their tour cards for 2023.

Six of the last nine winners of this event have been first-time PGA Tour victors with two playoffs coming in the last four years. Just last year, Mackenzie Hughes defeated Sepp Straka on the second playoff hole to win his second PGA Tour title. It took a 100-foot par-saver on the final hole in regulation to get there, and then Hughes held on in a wild playoff back-and-forth. Hopefully, we get a similar type of result this go-around.

The winner will receive 500 FedEx Cup points and a $1.476 million share of the $8.2 million purse.

Tee times (all times EDT)
THURSDAY/FIRST ROUND
First tee
8am — Kevin Tway, William McGirt, Carson Young
8.11am — Ben Crane, Zac Blair, Matt NeSmith
8.22am — Nate Lashley, Cameron Percy, Henrik Norlander
8.33am — Richy Werenski, Tyler Duncan, Troy Merritt
8.44am — Robert Streb, Martin Laird, Lanto Griffin
8.55am — Emiliano Grillo, Ryan Brehm, Garrick Higgo
9.06am — Kevin Streelman, Harry Higgs, Robby Shelton
9.17am — Greg Chalmers, Will Gordon, Ben Taylor
9.28am — Dylan Frittelli, Brian Stuard, Vince Whaley
9.39am — Adam Long, Russell Knox, Callum Tarren
9.50am — Michael Gligic, Scott Harrington, Fred Biondi
10.01am — Tano Goya, Greg Sonnier, Chris Baker
12.55pm — Jimmy Walker, SY Noh, Hank Lebioda
1.06pm — Chris Stroud, Sam Ryder, Harrison Endycott
1.17pm — Ryan Armour, Alex Smalley, Dylan Wu
1.28pm — Erik van Rooyen, Joel Dahmen, Brandt Snedeker
1.39pm — Lee Hodges, Davis Riley, Chad Ramey
1.50pm — Akshay Bhatia, Adam Svensson, Ludvig Åberg
2.01pm — Alex Noren, Beau Hossler, Eric Cole
2.12pm — Jason Dufner, Camilo Villegas, DJ Trahan
2.23pm — Ryan Moore, Doc Redman, Matthias Schwab
2.34pm — Ricky Barnes, Stephan Jaeger, Sam Stevens
2.45pm — Matti Schmid, Kevin Roy, Sam Bennett
2.56pm — Augusto Núñez, Ryan Gerard, Ross Steelman
10th tee
8am — Doug Ghim, Kramer Hickok, Paul Haley II
8.11am — Kelly Kraft, SH Kim, Davis Thompson
8.22am — Hayden Buckley, Justin Lower, Zecheng Dou
8.33am — Nick Hardy, Chez Reavie, Trey Mullinax
8.44am — KH Lee, Tom Hoge, Kevin Kisner
8.55am — Mackenzie Hughes, Cameron Champ, Scott Stallings
9.06am — Patton Kizzire, Greyson Sigg, Andrew Novak
9.17am — Wesley Bryan, Mark Hubbard, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
9.28am — Kevin Chappell, Nick Watney, Ben Griffin
9.39am — Scott Piercy, Ted Potter Jr., Max McGreevy
9.50am — Brent Grant, Kyle Westmoreland, Chase Parker
10.01am — Nicholas Lindheim, Brett White, Ford Clegg
12.55pm — CT Pan, Martin Trainer, Scott Brown
1.06pm — Charley Hoffman, Ben Martin, Jonathan Byrd
1.17pm — Brice Garnett, Harry Hall, MJ Daffue
1.28pm — Luke List, Lucas Herbert, Jim Herman
1.39pm — Brian Gay, Andrew Landry, Keith Mitchell
1.50pm — Jonas Blixt, Peter Malnati, Chesson Hadley
2.01pm — Sung Kang, Cody Gribble, Tommy Gainey
2.12pm — Ryan Palmer, Satoshi Kodaira, Austin Smotherman
2.23pm — Austin Cook, David Lipsky, Tyson Alexander
2.34pm — Sean O’Hair, Brandon Wu, Kevin Yu
2.45pm — Trevor Cone, Brandon Matthews, Peter Kuest
2.56pm — Carl Yuan, Trevor Werbylo, Zack Fischer

Main image: Ludvig Aberg. Douglas P DeFelice

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Aberg will skip the DP World Tour’s French Open to make this work. But don’t worry if you’re a European supporter. Aberg will still be hitting balls and prepping for the biggest tournament of his life (so far).

The European Solheim Cup team. Stuart Franklin

“My caddie Jack Clarke, his fiancee Madelene Sagstrom is playing,” Aberg said on the Chipping Forecast. “We are going to be down there playing and practising so it made a lot of sense for us to go there for a few days. I am really looking forward to it. I’ll be their biggest fan.”

Ludvig Aberg is making his Ryder Cup debut next week, but fellow Swedish stars Maja Stark and Linn Grant are debuting in Solheim Cup this week.

Amazing that all three attended Riksidrottsgymnasium, a national upper secondary sports school in Helsingborg, at same time. pic.twitter.com/FNh8xM83Yi

— Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) September 18, 2023

Aberg did join the rest of his European brethren at Marco Simone prior to the BMW PGA Championship, so it’s not as if he’s missing any team bonding sessions to take in the women’s competition. He even partnered up with Viktor Hovland and claimed a 3&2 victory in best-ball over Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy. He appears ready to go.

The US and European Solheim sides look to be evenly matched — the two teams have the exact same odds heading into the event — so every supporter counts. Especially one as critical as Aberg. Captain Luke Donald has anointed Aberg as a “generational talent”. We’ll find out soon if he’s a generational fan as well.

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You have to laugh. Or at least smile. At the end of a week in which just about every conversation and scrap of speculation revolved around the upcoming Ryder Cup, the winner of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth turned out to be someone who will never play for either side in the biennial transatlantic tussle.

Ryan Fox, a native of New Zealand was the interloper, the 36-year-old Auckland native’s closing 67 good enough to carry him to 18-under 280 and a one-shot victory over a brace of Englishmen, Aaron Rai and Tyrrell Hatton.

It was, as things turned out, an unlikely victory, even if Fox’s track record on the DP World Tour — he finished second behind only Rory McIlroy on the Race to Dubai last year — is one deserving of overall respect. This season, however, wasn’t going nearly so well until a first top-10 of 2023 in last week’s Horizon Irish Open came along after a month-long break at home.

Adding to the long odds against a Fox victory was the fact he got off to the sort of start that usually sends golfers into prolonged tailspins. His tee shot on the par-4 third hole found out-of-bounds right, leading to an eventual triple-bogey 7. Standing on the seventh tee, the burly Kiwi was, at least temporarily, five shots off the pace that was still being set by golf’s new “it” player, newly minted pro and 54-hole leader Ludvig Aberg.

That situation was soon to change. As Aberg went backwards, Fox began accelerating through the field via a string of eight birdies that started on the par-4 sixth, continued despite a nearly hour-and-a-half weather delay and ended on the par-5 18th. The last was achieved after Fox watched Hatton hole a birdie of his own on the home hole to get to 17-under — and despite a poor tee shot that found the rough and forced him to lay-up short of the water fronting the distant green. The wedge from there was pure though, finishing maybe six feet from the cup. In went the putt, a fitting climax to a back-nine 31 that included six of those eight birdies and with no putt longer than 12 feet.

Arguably the most impressive of the birdies came just after the resumption of play, Fox finding himself in the left rough on the par-4 15th hole. He then played this impressive recovery shot.

.@ryanfoxgolfer takes the lead in dramatic fashion ?#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/zphewrBoNN

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 17, 2023

“I certainly didn’t think I would be talking to anyone about winning after the third hole,” said a breathless Fox. “I don’t really know what to think at the moment. I’ve always struggled a little bit around here. I’ve maybe snuck one top-20 and struggled to make any cuts. To have a back nine like that, especially after how I started the day, it’s amazing. I played great. Pretty much didn’t miss a shot from the third hole onwards and saw a couple of putts go in. It was a pretty cool feeling on the last to know I had one to win and actually make it.”

A little earlier and in as low key a manner as Rory McIlroy shooting a seven-under 65 can ever be, the World No. 2 rounded off his tournament by bouncing on to a leaderboard from which he had previously been conspicuously absent. He left happy enough though. For a man who had to birdie the final hole of his second round to make the cut on the number, a 12-under weekend and a T-7 finish represented a satisfactory send-off to his next competitive outing, the Ryder Cup.

“When you look at the weekend as a whole, it’s a very solid two days of golf,” said McIlroy, who incidentally extended his lead atop the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai. “I said on Friday night that making the cut gave me the opportunity to go out and shoot a couple of good scores and feel a bit better about where my game is. And that’s what I’ve done.”

Still, ever the competitor, McIlroy wasn’t totally satisfied with his final-day efforts. The 5-5 finish (par-par) was especially irritating, the thought having crossed his mind that a 15-under total rather than his 13-under might just have put those in contention under a wee bit of extra pressure. But it wasn’t to be.

“I’m not disappointed that I haven’t won. I’m more disappointed that I couldn’t take advantage of the positions I put myself in on 17 and 18,” he said. “Even if I had birdied those two holes and not won at least I’d have given myself every chance and made the guys out on the course work for it a little more.”

Ludvig Aberg held his first 54-hole lead as a pro at Wentworth, but his Sunday went sideways with a disappointing closing 76. Richard Heathcote

In other news, Aberg turned out to be human after all. Two shots clear with 18 holes to play in only his 10th start as a professional golfer, the 23-year-old Swede stumbled to an error-strewn 76 that lowered him into a T-10 finish. It was, for someone who has cleared every professional hurdle since leaving the amateur ranks in June, a first “failure,” is a top-10 finish in the DP World Tour’s biggest event can be so described.

“A lot of these things I am doing at the moment are things I am doing for the first time,” said Aberg, who will make his Ryder Cup debut for Europe later this month. “This was the first time I was leading a tournament and I felt like I handled it quite well, to be honest. It was quite difficult out there, but I made a few stupid mistakes where I missed on the wrong side and was a little bit too cute with the chips. It cost me today and I’m trying to learn from it. I’m already looking forward to the next time I’m in that same position, although this is going to sting for a long time.”

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If it weren’t so impressive, it would be ridiculous. Just over three months into a professional career that has already spawned one victory in his first nine events, Ludvig Aberg leads the flagship tournament on the DP World Tour, the BMW PGA Championship, with one round to play. That such a situation is already seen as not even a little surprising is testimony to how quickly the 23-year-old Swede has adapted to playing golf for money, although perhaps the biggest tribute he has so far been paid is the Ryder Cup debut he will make in two weeks.

Still, that is for the less immediate future. For now, Aberg has to see off a distinguished chasing pack that contains as many as five of his European Ryder Cup teammates — all in the top-12 and within six shots of the lead — he will join in Italy at the end of the month. That, indeed, is the latest test in a series of increasingly stern examinations of all aspects of the Aberg game.

Ludvig Åberg will take a two-shot lead into the final round at Wentworth ? #BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/vCL4NJtb3o

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 16, 2023

The first question is obvious: “Can you believe this?”

“Both yes and no,” said Aberg, whose third-round 66 has him at 16-under and two shots clear of Scotland’s Conner Syme and one of those Ryder Cup teammates, World No. 14 Tommy Fleetwood. “If you asked me if I thought I could do it, I’d probably say ‘yes’. But to do it in this kind of fashion is pretty cool. Playing all these events and having these experiences for the first time is cool. I wouldn’t say there have been any surprises. What I try to do is prepare for each tournament the best I can. Then, once I’m on the course, it is nice just to play. I’m hanging around with my caddie a lot and we’re having a lot of fun. My aim is to keep it that way.”

Indeed, a plan that involves the maintenance of what has already been proven to work, seems sound. But, even after all that he has already achieved, the final round of the biggest event on the DP World Tour is going to bring a new level of pressure to bear on what are still inexperienced shoulders. Which is not to say Aberg is not justifiably confident in his ability to make off with the $1.53 million first-place prize.

“My expectations haven’t exactly changed, even after winning [European Masters] in Switzerland,” he said. “But I know for sure I can do it. Even though I won a bit in college, professional golf is different. I told myself I could do it and that I was good enough to do it. So hopefully I’ll be able to do it again tomorrow.

“This event has always been very high on my bucket list. We’re talking about one of the biggest events on the DP World Tour. I have memories of watching Alex Noren win here a few years ago, when he hit an amazing shot on the last hole. It’s cool to see myself up there. I have to pinch myself in the arm every now and then.”

As for the closest and more eminent member of the pair in second place, Fleetwood is, on paper, the most dangerous of the contenders piled up behind Aberg. But the 32-year-old Englishman will not be chasing pressure-free. Despite playing a mountain of good to great golf this year, he has failed to win a tournament anywhere in 2023. Eight top-10s dot his record, the most heartbreaking loss coming at the Canadian Open, where Nick Taylor holed a 70-foot putt to win their sudden-death playoff.

“There hasn’t really been a common theme to say why I haven’t won this year,” said Fleetwood. “I’ve played well and keep putting myself in contention. I’m not sure what else to do. It’s better this way, more than not quite having it. I know what it is to be struggling and where near. This is better. I’m clearly doing a lot of good things. I just have to stay patient. It’s just golf. I might win three in a row, you never know.

“If you look at my final rounds, they have been good,” he continued. “I played really well in Atlanta. I did the same in Memphis. I played great in the Open apart from one hole. In Canada the winner holed a 70-foot putt to best me in a playoff. I’m playing a lot of great golf when I’m in contention. But one guy always wins and everyone else is disappointed. It’ll be my turn soon.”

Maybe. If Fleetwood is to prevail, he is going to have to see off more than the currently inspired leader. For one thing, Masters champion Jon Rahm lurks, just four strokes off the pace, while Tyrrell Hatton and Sepp Straka are another shot behind. The Spaniard shot 66 Saturday to reach 12 under par, a score that is actually four strokes more than the round with which he completed this event last year. So anything is possible.

Just ask Ludvig Aberg. Already he knows more than a thing or two about what is possible and what isn’t.

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The fourth Rolex Series event of the season got under way and the trio teed off before 9am local time, with a bumper crowd in tow at Wentworth.

With things outside the ropes close to perfect, Swede Aberg — who only turned professional in June — set about achieving a similar result inside as he made five birdies in a row from the 11th to fly up the leaderboard and challenge for the lead.

A double-bogey on the 17th somewhat stalled his progress but he birdied the last to finish at four-under and was happy with his day’s work.

“It was great,” he said. “A little bit more people than I’m used to following me around. It was really fun playing with those two guys. Obviously the level of golf that they can do is pretty amazing and for me to watch that is pretty cool.

“I was kind of walking around and then almost pinched myself in the arm on the fairways but really enjoyed it and proud of the way I handled it today.”

Highlights from Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Åberg's opening round ?#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 14, 2023

While Aberg will be making his Ryder Cup debut in Italy later this month, Hovland will be playing in his second after recently winning the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour.

The duo may be separated by just two years in age but Hovland is vastly the more senior player in terms of experience, and he believes weeks like this in front of huge crowds will help Aberg in Rome.

“I think it’s a good experience for him,” said the Norwegian after shooting a 69. “The way he’s played the last couple of months, he has not been a pro very long but he certainly doesn’t look scared of the moment. So I think it’s just a great experience for him but I think he’s ready regardless.

“Ludvig was certainly on a heater mid-round and the crowd was loving it.

“Hopefully we can make a few more birdies and less mistakes to get the crowds going but just a great atmosphere here.”

“This is what I’ve been wanting to do for such a long time and for me to actually be here, to actually play in these events that I’ve watched for such a long time is pretty cool. I try to embrace it and I try to have fun with it and take it for what it is.”

Aberg was level par at the turn after a birdie on the fourth and bogey on the ninth but he put an approach to two feet at the 11th, capitalised on the par-five 12th, hit more smart irons into the 13th and 14th and holed a long putt on the 15th to rattle off five birdies.

A tee-shot out of bounds on the 17th saw him fall back but he made a two-putt birdie on the last to give himself a solid start.

“I hit some nice iron shots,” he said. “I feel like this golf course is pretty straightforward. If you put the ball in front of you off the tee you get a lot of mid-irons.

“Luckily today I hit a few nice ones and obviously made a few putts as well. I think that’s what I’ve got to keep doing and just take it for what it is.”

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He’s the guy everyone has been talking about in the run-up to the 44th Ryder Cup and that didn’t change at Wentworth at the BMW PGA Championship. Rory McIlroy. Jon Rahm. Victor Hovland. The three best players on the European team that captain Luke Donald will lead at the Marco Simone Country Club near Rome at the end of this month all had plenty to say about the most unlikely member of the team, Ludvig Aberg.

And why not? Not much more than three months ago, the 23-year-old Swede was an amateur. A special one, ranked No. 1 in the world, but still playing college golf. Even now he will make his Ryder Cup debut as the first to do so without having played in a major championship. In that respect alone, Aberg is worth discussing. Even the supremely gifted McIlroy was intrigued to meet the lad who so many are describing as “a generational talent,” to the point where the four-time major champion was almost giddy with anticipation.

“I first noticed Ludvig when he won the Haskins Award and the Nicklaus Award for being the best college player,” said the Northern Irishman, who will be playing in his seventh Ryder Cup. “There were some people in the golf community touting him to be on this Ryder Cup team when he was still playing college golf. He has obviously had a phenomenal start to his pro career and played well. He’s having an incredible start to his career. Anyone who watches him play golf can see the potential and kind of talent that he has. I had an opportunity to play with Ludvig for the first time on Monday, which I was excited about. I told him: ‘I’ve been looking forward to this for a while.’”

While that might be the ultimate compliment Aberg has been paid, there was a lot more to be said about the Texas Tech graduate. He certainly didn’t disappoint McIlroy.

“He probably exceeded my expectations,” McIlroy said. “Everyone talks about what a great driver of the golf ball Ludvig is — and he is. The ball-striking is incredible. But I was really impressed with his wedge play and how he can control his trajectory with shorter clubs. I was on the bandwagon before. I’m certainly at the front of it now.”

And McIlroy has company. Sitting right beside him on that bandwagon is Rahm.

“When you’re creating the kind of reaction Ludvig has, it’s a good thing,” said the Masters champion. “Because clearly people see the potential you have. He’s already played good enough to capture the attention of the best players in the world and the media. Coming from behind and making four birdies in a row and taking the lead to win the European Masters is not easy. So clearly he’s showing it. He’s got great potential.

“The only thing that matters is what’s going on in his head. A lot of times as players we put a lot more pressure on ourselves than the media can put on us. I wouldn’t quite know how to answer the question [how much of a risk his selection is], but he definitely has the talent to back it up.”

There is one thing Aberg has going for him. While Hovland and Nicolai Hojgaard hail from Norway and Denmark respectively, their shared Scandinavian heritage will surely make the young Swede more comfortable than he might have been otherwise. Hovland certainly thinks so, citing their ability to converse in a language not English and the fact that the pair beat McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood at Marco Simone.

“Swedish is very tough for me to read, but when we speak with each other, it’s very easy,” revealed Hovland (in English). “There’s a lot of Swedes in Norway, especially in golf instructing. Almost half the coaches are Swedish in Norway. So I’m very familiar with the language. I think that makes it a little bit more familiar when you’re on a team and on such a big stage. Everything for me and Ludvig and Nicolai is in a foreign language, so it’s nice to have someone that you can speak with. Even though they are from different countries, like Ludvig and Nicolai, we have a very similar culture.”

Even Aberg was asked to comment on Aberg. And, with a smile, he complied.

“I would say I’m a very calm person,” he said. “I don’t get too high, not too low. I like to see myself as a very nice, considerate, I don’t … you know, I want to treat people the way that I want to be treated, and I think that’s very important. I like to keep my feet where they are and not get too caught up in the moment or something like that. So I like to view myself as a nice person. But I guess it’s up to other people to figure it out.”

Don’t worry about that. Just about everyone already has.

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