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It is scarcely believeable that this is Ludvig Aberg’s first crack at an Open Championship.<\/b><\/p>\n
Such has been the meteoric rise of the likeable Swede since he turned professional 13 months ago, that it feels like he’s been around for years.<\/p>\n
Aberg enjoyed a sensational start, with a victory on the DP World Tour before playing a starring role in Europe’s electrifying Ryder Cup victory over the United States in Rome.<\/p>\n
Captain Luke Donald selected Aberg as one of his six wildcard picks, making him the first player to compete in a Ryder Cup before playing in a major. <\/p>\n
He then won on the PGA Tour in November to cap an extraordinary six months.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“It feels like I\u2019ve been here from watching the last time in 2016,” he said of Stenson’s victory.<\/p>\n
“It’s been a long time coming. I\u2019ve tried qualifying a few times but never really been there so it\u2019s cool to be here.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s the major closest to home. I love the history, and this is the tournament with most history.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n