The fact that this is Ludvig Aberg’s first attempt at an Open Championship is almost unbelievable.
Since turning professional 13 months ago, the likable Swede has risen so quickly that it seems like he has been there for years.
After winning the DP World Tour, Aberg had an incredible start to his career. In Rome, he was a key player in Europe’s thrilling Ryder Cup triumph against the United States.
Aberg became the first player to participate in a Ryder Cup before participating in a major tournament when he was chosen by captain Luke Donald as one of his six wildcard selections.
In November, he achieved victory on the PGA Tour, capping an incredible half-year.
This year has brought major championship challenges for the 24-year-old, who has impressed in two of his first three, and jumped to fourth in the world rankings – he was outside the top 3,000 at the start of 2023.
Aberg made a stunning debut at the Masters in April, comfortably finishing the best of the rest as Scottie Scheffler romped to the title. A missed cut at the US PGA Championship followed but he led the US Open at halfway before faltering a little to finish joint 12th.
So, on to this week at Royal Troon. He told BBC Sport “it will be a dream come true to play on Thursday”, while referencing his fellow Swede Henrik Stenson’s titanic tussle with Phil Mickelson the last time the Ayrshire links hosted the Championship in 2016.
“It feels like I’ve been here from watching the last time in 2016,” he said of Stenson’s victory.
“It’s been a long time coming. I’ve tried qualifying a few times but never really been there so it’s cool to be here.”
Aberg visited the course last Monday for a practice round. “It was cool to see the yellow leaderboards and the big grandstands on the 18th,” he said.
“It’s the major closest to home. I love the history, and this is the tournament with most history.”
‘Being disappointed with top-five finish is good’
Aberg tuned up for this week with a top-five showing at last week’s Scottish Open, across the country at the Renaissance Club in East Lothian.
He led by two heading into Sunday’s final round but closed with a three-over 73 as home favourite Robert MacIntyre surged to a well-received victory.
“Fair play to Bob, he did it tremendously. It’s not easy going out and playing in front of a big crowd like that and perform, and he did that very well,” said Aberg.
“From a bigger perspective, being disappointed with a top-five finish is good.
“It speaks to a lot of the things that we did well that week and hopefully it will transpire to this week.
“All those experiences over the past couple of months makes it easier because you can recognise yourself in those situations and you can say I’ve been here before.”
Venue: Royal Troon Dates: Thu 18-Sun 21 July