What Rory McIlroy told Ludvig Aberg before they played together for the first time ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup

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While he had won on the DP World Tour in his first few months as a professional, it was the 2023 Ryder Cup which really saw Ludvig Aberg announce himself on the big stage.

Luke Donald seemed to take a big gamble by picking Ludvig Aberg for the Ryder Cup in Rome. The Swede had only turned professional in June 2023, but made enough of an impression on the European captain to force his way into the fold.

Aberg won the Omega European Masters in September. So it was not a huge surprise when Donald decided to hand him a captain’s pick for Marco Simone.

Of course, few will forget Aberg and Viktor Hovland breaking Ryder Cup records as they beat Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka 9&7 on Saturday morning. That performance alone would have been enough to vindicate Donald’s decision to pick the 25-year-old.

What Rory McIlroy told Ludvig Aberg before they played together for the first time

Donald actually compared the first time he saw Aberg play to watching Rory McIlroy as a youngster. And it seems that McIlroy himself was just as excited about getting the chance to tee it up with the starlet ahead of the Ryder Cup.

Speaking on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast after naming Aberg as one of his captain’s picks for this year’s event at Bethpage, Donald was asked about the role Rory McIlroy has in the team room.

And he shared a story involving Aberg to illustrate just how influential McIlroy has been when it comes to elevating his teammates each time the Ryder Cup comes around.

“It’s hugely valuable. I just remember the very first practice trip we had. We’re teeing off on the first and Rory got to play with Ludvig for the very first time, and it was Rory who goes, ‘I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks’. It wasn’t Ludvig saying, ‘I can’t wait to play with you, Rory’. It was the other way around,” he said.

“Rory understands the individual mindset that makes him one of the best ever players to ever play this game, but he understands that the team mindset is really important. Being on the same level, being open, sharing his knowledge, just all that goes with creating a unified team. Rory steps up in a big way.”

How Ludvig Aberg performed at the 2023 Ryder Cup

Aberg could have hardly asked for a better start to life on the Ryder Cup stage. Along with Hovland, they delivered a point on Friday morning with a 4&3 victory over Max Homa and Brian Harman. While neither American will be at Bethpage, Homa proved to be one of the stars of the show that week two years ago.

The win over Scheffler and Koepka was about as emphatic a statement as Europe could have possibly made. Unfortunately, that would prove to be Aberg’s final notable contribution that week.

Donald’s men still got across the line relatively comfortably. Aberg, meanwhile, won on the PGA Tour for the first time a little while later at The RSM Classic.

His 2025 has been a little underwhelming in some ways. But Aberg did manage to win the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines in February.

And although he needed a captain’s pick for Bethpage, it would be little surprise to see Aberg earmarked as someone to play at least four matches in New York.