Heading into 2023, few would have ever imagined that the European Ryder Cup team would include a young Swede by the name of Ludvig Åberg, with the 24-year-old beginning the year as an amateur.
The rise of Ludvig Åberg has been a rapid one, as he turned professional in June 2023 – winning on the DP World Tour within a few weeks. Clearly, his performances caught the eye of Luke Donald, who handed him a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup in Rome.
Aberg ranked outside the top 50 on both the European and World points lists, but he went on to win two points from his four matches in the Italian capital. And of course, few will forget his performance on the Saturday morning when Aberg and Viktor Hovland won 9&7 against a shellshocked Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka.
Aberg would win on the PGA Tour before the end of the year, and mark his major championship debut by finishing second at The Masters this year. He was also in contention heading into the final round of the US Open, so you can understand why the hopes are so high for him.
US Ryder Cup team may have found their own Ludvig Aberg
The good news for the US is that they may have discovered their own version, with Smylie Kaufman telling The Smylie Show that John Deere Classic winner Davis Thompson appears to have plenty of similarities with the European.
“He’s got great footwork like you talk about, a stable club face, and it’s the type of athlete too – the PGA Tour posted his basketball highlights, which I thought was great – we’re seeing more and more of this, which is the type of PGA Tour athlete that’s coming out onto the tour, you mentioned a couple of those stars coming out a moment ago with Clanton and Thorbjornsen, but Davis Thompson, he reminds me a lot of the same type of athlete, and body figure and golf swing that Ludvig Aberg has: tall, rangy athlete, knows how to use the ground very well, you don’t see a tonne of changing in their levels, a lot of side-bend, just an ability to put the bat on the ball and be able to use the ground and sequence the golf club correctly, and that’s what Davis has kind of done since he’s been an amateur golfer,” he said.
Another rapid rise in recent weeks
Thompson has definitely made a statement over the last three events, finishing in the top 10 at the US Open and the Rocket Mortgage Classic and then winning in Illinois last week.
It was remarkable how he seemed to blow the competition away in the early stages of Sunday, making five birdies in the first six holes to ensure that he could coast across the finish line.
There has been some pushback on the comparisons between Thompson and Scottie Scheffler. But perhaps the similarities with Aberg are easier to grasp, with the Swede still awaiting that moment where he wins one of the biggest events.
It definitely bodes well for America ahead of next year’s Ryder Cup, with Thompson surely in with a chance of making the Presidents Cup team later this season.
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