Ludvig Åberg on photo with Tiger Woods, PGA Tour win at Torrey Pines and early Ryder Cup momentum for Europe

Ludvig Åberg has gone from college star to one of golf’s biggest names in less than two years, with the speed of the Swede’s meteoric rise even taking him by surprise.

Åberg won on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour within months of turning professional in June 2023, the same year he impressed on his Ryder Cup debut, while the 25-year-old’s latest success came at an event hosted by one of his childhood idols.

Four birdies in the last six holes gave Åberg a one-shot victory at the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational earlier this month, hosted by Tiger Woods’ foundation, with the latest win lifting him to a new career-high of fourth in the latest world rankings.

“A couple of years ago, this [success] wasn’t really on the frame of my mind,” Åberg told Sky Sports in the days after his Genesis Invitational victory. “I didn’t think I was going to be here this quick.

“If you had asked me if I had the abilities to do so, then yeah, probably, but probably not this quick!”

Åberg’s dramatic win was in stark contrast to his appearance at Torrey Pines a month earlier, when he fell down the leaderboard over the weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open after a violent stomach bug.

And tournament host Woods was among the first to congratulate him.

“It was really cool,” Åberg explained. “It was unfortunate that we couldn’t be at Riviera, as I love Riviera, but I probably love Torrey Pines equally as much. With Tiger and how many times he won at Torrey, probably eight times, it means a lot.

“He means so much to me and to our sport, so to hold that trophy next to him was really cool. I have that picture of the two of us saved in my phone and I think I’m going to be looking at that for quite some time!”

Åberg immediately travelled from San Diego to Florida after his victory for back-to-back TGL matches a day later, helping The Bay Golf Club to two wins, before spending three days with coach Hans Larsson to prepare for the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing.

“It has been quite busy,” Åberg explained. “We planned from way back that he was going to stay and we were going to do some practice days after the TGL. It was sort of back-on-the-horse-again training and practising, which was fun.

“I will leave the clubs in the closet for a couple of days. Me and my girlfriend are going away to a little retreat place for a night, so that will be good. Other than that, it’s sort of trying to prepare for the next tournament.

“Bay Hill is coming up pretty quick, so we’re going to try to be ready for that. I do appreciate the time at home. I think it’s really nice. I’m not an amazing celebrator, so I might have a couple of glasses of wine. I think that will be it, though!

Early momentum for Europe in Ryder Cup year?

Åberg’s victory continued a wave of early-season European success on the PGA Tour, following Sepp Straka’s win at The American Express, Rory McIlroy’s two-shot victory over Shane Lowry at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and a breakthrough title for Thomas Detry at the WM Phoenix Open.

“I think it’s great,” said Åberg, who made his Ryder Cup debut for Europe in their 2023 victory in Rome. “It speaks about qualities of the European side and I think Luke is going to be pretty pleased when he sees European success on the PGA Tour and the European Tour.

“I think you sort of expect Rory to play well and him to win tournaments. I played Tom [Detry] for the first two days at Torrey – he’s a great player and I think he’s going to be a force this year on the PGA Tour.

“I think it [European success] is great for everyone and hopefully we can sort of keep that going and have some momentum going into the Ryder Cup.”

Augusta on the mind for Åberg?

Åberg will look to challenge for a maiden major title in 2025 ahead of a likely second successive Ryder Cup appearance, a year on from finishing runner-up to Scottie Scheffler in his major debut at The Masters.

“It was really cool and an unbelievable experience, having a chance to win at the end,” Åberg said about last year’s Augusta debut. “I think coming back, it will be interesting to see how I feel.

“I think I will be really excited and I think it will be really cool to live those moments again, some of the putts I made and shots that I made.

“At the same time, I’ll be trying to manage the expectations of preparing for a normal tournament and make sure that I am ready. Make sure I don’t skip anything and do everything I can in order to be as ready as I can.

“Every time you play Augusta or be on the grounds, it is such a special place and I am sure I will be really excited.”

Watch Ludvig Åberg in action throughout the 2025 PGA Tour season live on Sky Sports. Åberg is back in action at the Arnold Palmer Invitational – watch live from March 6-9 on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.