Scottish Open: Ludvig Åberg is no longer a no-name but popular standout seeking 2nd PGA Tour victory

A lot changed for the Swedish phenom, Ludvig Åberg, in the last 12 months as the youngster is no longer the new kid on the block.

Ludvig Åberg has skyrocketed into stardom during the past 12 months. He is no longer the Texas Tech no-name amateur who was the first to earn status through the PGA Tour Univeristy program but an experienced winner.

The Swede won the RSM Classic last November after participating on a winning Ryder Cup team.

He and Viktor Hovland historically destroyed World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka in Saturday foursomes 9 & 7. His popularity grows by the day as the former Texas Tech Red Raider continues to play well on the PGA Tour.

The Eslov, Sweden native will make his second start this week at the Genesis Scottish Open. However, he will have a lot more people following him throughout the tournament than last year.

“It feels a little bit different,” Aberg said on Wednesday. “I’m more familiar with the clubs now and I know a little bit more what to expect and what’s going on.”

“I still feel fortunate to be able to play these events, and it’s been a great 12 months. If someone told me this would happen in 12 months, I’m not sure I would believe that guy. On the other hand, I feel like I’ve always had great people around me, people that I trust, the people that helped me a lot.”

Åberg made his professional PGA Tour debut last year at the Travelers Championship. He finished T24 that week. From there, things continued to happen for him.

By the end of last year’s PGA Tour season, Åberg amassed a win, one runner-up finish, four top 10s and eight top 25s. In 11 events, he made 10 cuts. The lone event the 24-year-old did not play the weekend was at the Genesis Scottish Open.

Åberg also recorded a DP World Tour victory at the Omega European Masters. That victory helped him receive a pick from Team Europe’s captain, Luke Donald.

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

A lot of change happened in his world over the past 12 months, but Åberg is still extremely humble about it all. No matter the result on the course, he always wants to keep his passion alive and well golf.

“I try to hold onto that as firmly as I can because it is a different environment playing golf here and on Tour and I try not to do it as my job,” he said. “I just want to be that 16-year-old kid that plays golf and absolutely loves it. So I try to keep holding onto that, and I think that’s very important. But yeah I feel very fortunate to do this for a living.”

His rookie campaign was special, but his sophomore season on the PGA Tour has not been disappointing.

He has made 14 starts and 13 cuts. Åberg already has two runner-up finishes, six Top 10s and 10 Top 25s.

One of those second places came at Augusta National behind Scottie Scheffler in Åberg’s first major start. He also captured a T12 at a difficult Pinehurst No. 2 for the U.S. Open. So far, Åberg is 2-of-3 in majors, as his lone missed cut of the season came at Valhalla Golf Club for the PGA Championship.

The No. 4 player in the world sits in the sixth spot in the FedEx Cup rankings, putting him in an excellent place to make it to Atlanta for the Tour Championship. Before any playoff thoughts can occur, he will have two weeks in Scotland to tackle.

Can he bounce back from missing the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open and carry that momentum into the Open Championship next week at Royal Troon? Åberg plays with Hideki Matsuyama and Collin Morikawa for the first two days. They tee off at 8:43 a.m. ET for Round 1 and 3:28 a.m. ET for Day 2.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.