Swedish golfer closes in on Woods in world ranking achievement

Ludvig Aberg, 24, is currently second only to Tiger Woods in terms of 11th-fastest strokes in the history of the World Golf Rankings (OWGR).

OWGR recorded Aberg as No. 11 in its weekly update on February 5. Aberg reached this position after the PGA Tour announced him as the runner-up at the 2024 Pebble Beach Pro-Am after three rounds due to bad weather. With that result, Aberg, after 18 tournaments since turning pro, is closing in on the OWGR top 10.

Ludwig Aberg, before he turned professional, at the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club, Dubai on January 27, 2023. Photo: AFP — Ludwig Aberg, before he turned professional, at the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club, Dubai on January 27, 2023. Photo: *AFP*

In terms of speed to reach that threshold when turning professional, Woods is the fastest, with 17 tournaments. In fact, Woods reached 11th place in the OWGR after his 17th tournament - the 1997 Masters major. At this event, "Super Tiger" won and thus rose to third place in the OWGR and owned four cups on the PGA Tour. Woods started playing professional golf at the age of 20, in August 1996. OWGR was born 10 years earlier.

Aberg turned pro in June 2023, at 914 OWGR. To date, he has played 18 tournaments with 13 top 25 finishes, including two cups, divided equally between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. Last year, Aberg played for the European team and helped the home team beat the US. With that spot, Aberg is the first golfer who has never played a major tournament to compete in a hole tournament between the two strongest golfing nations in the world.

The PGA Tour currently has Aberg with nearly $5.65 million in total prize money, averaging 305.4 yards this season with a fairway hitting rate of approximately 58% but a greens landing rate of 74.44%.

At the recent Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Aberg finished 16-under after three rounds of the par-72 course. When the final round was canceled due to storms, the PGA Tour declared him runner-up with a $2.16 million bonus, while the cup and $3.6 million went to Wyndham Clark at 17-under.

Aberg started playing golf at the age of eight, listening to his father Johan and initially not liking the sport. Therefore, every practice session, Johan would buy Aberg ice cream so that he could stay on the field to practice more. As a child, Aberg was also talented at football. It was not until he was 13 that he focused on golf.

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