Rory McIlroy was always on Ludvig Aberg's bandwagon: "Now I'm at the front"

Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland all sung the praises of 'generational' talent Ludvig Aberg ahead of the Swede's debut in the Ryder Cup.

Ben Smith

13 Sep 2023

Rory McIlroy was always on Ludvig Aberg's bandwagon: "Now I'm at the front"

Would it be unreasonable to suggest Ludvig Aberg is the most unlikely member of Europe's Ryder Cup team?

Only the most ardent of golf fans might've heard of the 23-year-old Swede before he turned professional in June.

He arrived on the scene with a big reputation having been ranked the No.1 amateur in the world.

Aberg also picked up the Haskins award and the Jack Nicklaus award such was his prowess in college golf.

Fast forward a few months and he's being described as a 'generational talent' by the likes of Rory McIlroy after European captain Luke Donald handed him a wildcard pick.

McIlroy, Rahm and Viktor Hovland all sung the praises of Aberg before the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Scroll down to see what each golfer had to say about the rising golf star.

Rory McIlroy:

"Probably exceeded them [his expectations]. Everyone talks about what a great driver of the golf ball he is and -- which he is. The ball-striking is incredible. But I was really impressed with his wedge play and how he can sort of control his trajectory with shorter clubs. I was on the bandwagon before. Certainly at the front of it now."

Jon Rahm:

"When you're creating that kind of reaction, it's a good thing, because clearly people see the potential you have. He just turned professional and he's played good enough to capture the attention of the best players in the world and the media and played good when he had to to win.

"Coming from behind and making four birdies in a row and taking the lead to win the tournament is not easy. So clearly he's showing it. He's got great potential.

"The only thing that matters is what's going on in his head, really, right, and a lot of times as players, I feel like we put a lot more pressure on ourselves than the media can put on us.

"I wouldn't quite know how to answer the question but he definitely has the talent to back it up."

Viktor Hovland:

"I've only played with him one time and it was recently. Very, very impressive. Obviously just -- I've been paying attention to his results, and I remember -- this is over a year ago, we had a FaceTime together. Got to know him a little bit there, and I've gone to dinner with him probably once.

"So I haven't spent very much time with him. Just watching his results, I'm just very impressed, not just the golf stuff because I've hardly seen his golf swing, or I don't know anything about his game, but just the way he carried himself, his demeanour, seemed very mature.

"Seemed to enjoy the moment but wasn't scared. I think that's the type of personality that's going to fit very nicely into the Ryder Cup. Didn't seem like the moment was too big for him.

"I think that in itself as a rookie, just being professional for a couple months, that is way more impressive than any accomplishment that he's made as a professional golfer results-wise."