With second place Masters finish, Ludvig Aberg makes one hell of a major debut

You have to ask yourself what kind of professional golfer goes from ranked No. 3,073 in his PGA debut last year to the current world No. 9 in the span of 10 months? Ever since Ludvig Aberg made his debut on the PGA Tour last year, he only missed three cuts, with four T5 finishes, most notably on Sunday’s The Masters at Augusta National.

At one point on the final day of The Masters, the young golfer shared the lead alongside two other big names in golf, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and two-time major winner, Collin Morikawa.

It was thrilling to watch Aberg keep up with other golfing sensations who had played their share of Sundays at a major. Looking at the young Swede next to them, you would have thought the same, with Aberg exhibiting an easy-going demeanor all day long. Even when his momentum became stalled at the 11th, with a double bogey that gave a closer like Scheffler all the opening he needed to go on a run of thrilling birdies, Aberg never wavered from his positive attitude.

"I think there is a lot of things we'd done very well this week, especially today," Ludvig said during his interview with CBS's Amanda Balionis afterwards, h/t The Augusta Chronicle. "I came out and was very nervous, obviously was shaking at the first tee. But those are all things that I enjoy doing and we said, 'It is a privilege to be hitting all these shots out here and it's a privilege to be in this position."

Ludvig Aberg finishes second in Masters debut

It’s no wonder he’s gained an avid fan base already. In his first year on the Tour he already won The RSM Classic last November. He continued to stay on the golfing radar with an impressive second place finish to Wyndham Clark at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last February. He ended up just one stroke behind Clark, who set the record for lowest round at the event, with inclement weather forcing play to conclude with Saturday’s scores. Who knows what might have been for the Eslov, Sweden native? He continued to impress the following month with an eighth place finish at The Players Championship, considered by many to be the “fifth major.”

Aberg began the year with a ninth finish at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. He was also picked for the European team for Ryder Cup last year, where he played a pivotal role in their victory.

You can say that the Florida resident has become the rookie of the year since graduating from Texas Tech University, where he was ranked world No. 1 amateur golfer for a total of 29 weeks. Along with Jon Rahm, Aberg is only the second male golfer to earn the Ben Hogan award two years in a row, which he did 2022-2023. Aberg’s best college ranking earned him his spot on the PGA Tour.

He gained even more admirers with his ability to bounce back on the back nine on the final day of The Masters. Despite the double bogey at 11, he would go on to drain two more birdies on the 13th and 14th holes to own second place outright and stay there.

It’s the combination of breezy confidence that he exudes during play while also maintaining an optimistic outlook—even during disappointment—that has made him a popular fixture on the scene.

The final day of The Masters certainly belonged to Scheffler, where he earned his second green jacket, to go along with his 2022 victory.

But it also gave a glimpse of an electrifying future with Aberg at the epicenter of golf. It will be fascinating to see what else he produces throughout the year.