In Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Aberg, Team Europe have two of the very best golfers in the world to watch on their team.
McIlroy remains box office, as we saw last week when he won the Irish Open and he’s had yet another remarkable year in 2025.
As for Ludvig Aberg, the wins haven’t been there for him this year but he remains one of the quickest and smoothest players to watch on the PGA Tour and eventually, the wins will stack up.
Both will feature heavily for Luke Donald in the Ryder Cup this month and it’s worth noting just how integral Aberg and McIlroy were in Rome in 2023.
Indeed, looking back at that time period and after Aberg had been given a pick, McIlroy spoke highly of the Swede.
Why Rory McIlroy says Ludvig Aberg is the real deal
Rory McIlroy is used to being under pressure and he was very much golf’s golden child for a long time.
Now in his mid 30s, McIlroy can cast an admiring eye over the emerging talent on the TOUR and back in 2023, he explained just why Aberg is the real deal.
“If you look at someone like Ludvig, you just have to watch him hit balls on the range. I mean, he’s special,” McIlroy said.
“He really is. Unbelievable ball striker, I don’t think people recognise – from this part of the world – see it because he’s played a lot of college golf in the USA and PGA Tour stuff but yeah, you know he’s come over here and finished fourth in Czech and went and won in Switzerland.
“He proved he was worth of a pick and to ybe honest, I think Luke was going to pick him anyway.”
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Ludvig Aberg’s Ryder Cup record
With just one Ryder Cup under his belt, you get the feeling Aberg is going to be around for some time.
He’s been picked this year and if he keeps winning and playing well, as many expect, then he’ll keep getting picked.
As for his debut in 2023, it went pretty well indeed.
Aberg and Viktor Hovland downed Max Homa and Brian Harman 4&3 on the opening morning, before smashing Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka a record 9&8 on the Saturday.
Hovland and Aberg then lost to Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns later in the day, before on the Sunday, Koepka got revenge on Aberg by winning their singles bout 3&2.
Still, it’s a solid enough start for Aberg and if he can do the same at Bethpage, Europe may very well come away victorious.
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