[PHOTO: Harry How]
Since turning pro, Ludvig Aberg has experienced a slew of firsts, including playing new golf courses virtually every time he tees it up on the PGA Tour. That will once again be the case at this week’s Tour Championship as the 24-year-old makes his debut at East Lake. However, he was actually supposed to play there four years ago.
Aberg’s Texas Tech University squad competed in the East Lake Cup in late 2020. But unfortunately, he wasn’t able to make the trip.
“So the week, before my roommate got COVID,” Aberg explained overnight, Australian time. “So I was healthy, I was fit, but these contact tracing, whatever they called it back then, so I couldn’t go. I was at home watching it, and I remember that was tough.”
So there you have it. Just in case you planned on making any Aberg bets this week and you thought he had played in that prestigious US collegiate event before, well, he hasn’t.
“I’ve looked forward to it for a long time,” said Aberg, who will start the tournament at five-under, five shots behind FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler.
But after a tough break in not getting to play here in 2020, there is something going in his favour as he plays in his first Tour Championship. After East Lake underwent a major restoration under architect Andrew Green in the past year, it looks and plays much different.
“That should be a good thing for me,” Aberg said with a smile at a TUMI event on Monday night.
It was similar last week’s BMW Championship when the PGA Tour went back to Castle Pines for the first time in 18 years. And Aberg finished co-runner-up to Keegan Bradley, showing once again how quickly he’s able to adapt to a new challenge. On second thought, maybe it bodes better for his chances this week that he didn’t get to make that trip to Atlanta four years ago.
