Ludvig Aberg eyes a big breakthrough at John Deere Classic

Jordan Spieth earned his breakthrough moment in professional golf 10 years ago at the John Deere Classic.

Another young man could be poised to make his name known to the golfing world this week at TPC Deere Run. 

Less than two months after competing in the NCAA Division I Championships for Texas Tech University, Ludvig Aberg has turned professional and is turning heads against the world’s best each week. 

“It’s been a few intense weeks,” Aberg said Tuesday afternoon preparing for this week’s tournament. “Ever since I played my first event in Canada a couple of weeks ago, it’s been kind of on the go all the time. 

“It’s going to take some time to get used to it. … It’s a completely new setting, so there’s a lot that goes into that.”

Based on his collegiate and amateur resume and early PGA Tour starts, Aberg has a chance to be one of the game’s next big stars. 

The first player to earn immediate PGA Tour status through the PGA Tour University program, Aberg collected a program-record eight wins at Texas Tech including back-to-back Big 12 Championships. He earned the prestigious Ben Hogan Award twice and represented the International team at the 2020 and 2022 Arnold Palmer Cups. 

In three starts as a pro, the 23-year-old has finished T25 at the Canadian Open, T24 at the Travelers Championship and T40 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He was just a shot off the lead at the halfway point of last week’s tournament in Detroit. 

“It’s a little bit surreal,” Aberg said. “I almost have to pinch myself when I wake up in the morning, but I’m so fortunate to be here and looking forward to a fun week.”

This is Aberg’s first trip to the Quad Cities, but he has some familiarity with the tournament. He remembers watching Spieth hole his greenside bunker shot on the 18th hole to get into a playoff and eventually win here as a 19-year-old in 2013.

“Being a fan of the PGA Tour for such a long time, I’ve seen the tournament, and I recognize a few holes,” Aberg said. “Especially 17 and 18 coming down the stretch. 

“You recognize a few of the (shots) — obviously like what Jordan did here when he won his first tournament. Those kind of things are in your mind when you are playing that hole.”

In a field that has nine of the world’s top 50 players, Aberg has been considered one of the betting favorites this week. 

He hopes to replicate what Spieth did a decade ago. 

“The biggest thing for me that’s changed is just going from week to week to week,” said Aberg, who will be on the charter Sunday night heading to Scotland for next week’s Scottish Open. “I think getting used to being on the road traveling, finding places to eat, finding places to stay, all these things are going to get easier every time I come back to an event that I have been to before.”

The smooth-swinging Swede, just over 6 feet tall, pounds the driver 300-plus yards. In his first eight rounds on Tour, he was among the top 30 in driving distance and strokes gained approach to the green. 

He grew up playing amateur events in Europe as a junior. Greg Sands, the golf coach at Texas Tech, recruited him to the States. 

“It was a little bit of a change coming from Sweden to Lubbock (Texas) because it was very different,” Aberg said. “I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. 

“Lubbock is so much fun, and I still live there.”

Aberg played with European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald for the first two rounds at last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. He turned in rounds of 65 and 67. 

A few more performances like that could make Donald strongly consider Aberg for a spot on the Ryder Cup team this September. 

“If you would have asked me a few weeks ago if the Ryder Cup was on my mind, no, absolutely not,” he said. “I was still in college and I didn’t think about it. 

“But obviously being in that situation a little bit more, as a competitor and as a golfer, the Ryder Cup is something I dreamed of from the first time I saw it as a little kid.”

Aberg will play the front nine in Wednesday’s pro-am with University of Iowa women’s basketball standout Caitlin Clark. They’ll go off at 8:08 a.m. Clark will be joined by Iowa native Zach Johnson on the back nine, starting approximately at 10:45 a.m. 

On Thursday afternoon for the opening round, Aberg will be grouped with Nick Hardy and Cameron Young.

“I think for me, I’ve been close to the lead now for a few tournaments, and it’s a lot of fun,” Aberg said. “All I can do is try to put myself in that position again.

“If I can prepare well and I can play well and then come Sunday I might have a chance to win, that would be great. I’m also going to be okay if I don’t.”