Ludvig Noa Åberg (; born 31 October 1999) is a Swedish professional golfer. He is a member of the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
Before turning professional in June 2023, Åberg had been ranked number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a total of 29 weeks. He won the Ben Hogan Award as the best collegiate player in the United States in both 2022 and 2023, and finished on top of the 2022–23 PGA Tour University rankings to earn membership on the tour. Within three months of turning professional, Åberg achieved his first tournament victory on the DP World Tour, at the Omega European Masters, and was a member of the winning European team in the 2023 Ryder Cup.
Early life
Åberg was born on 31 October 1999 in Eslöv, Sweden, to parents Mia and Johan. He has an elder sister named Linnea. He was introduced to golf at eight years of age, at the local club, Eslöv Golf Club, by his father, who was a keen golfer. He initially was not fond of the game, but his father encouraged him by offering him ice cream if he stayed an extra hour at the course.
Åberg also played football until focusing on golf at the age of 13. When he was 15, Åberg earned a place at Filbornaskolan, a sports-specialised boarding school in Helsingborg. He was in the same year group at the school as future Solheim Cup players Maja Stark and Linn Grant.
Amateur career
2016–2019
In 2016, Åberg was awarded the Annika Sörenstam Trophy after winning the Swedish Teen Tour Order of Merit.
Representing Sweden, he was individual leader at the 2017 European Boys' Team Championship, and finished third individually at the 2018 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan. He won the Fairhaven Trophy in 2017. He made his European Tour debut at the 2018 Nordea Masters, where he finished tied 34th.
In 2019, Åberg was runner-up at the African Amateur Stroke Play Championship, and was a member of the winning Swedish team at the 2019 European Amateur Team Championship. Later in the year, he started college at Texas Tech on a golf scholarship, joining the Red Raiders golf team. He ended 2019 with a win at the Sun Bowl Marathon All-America Golf Classic.
2020–2021
In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down college golf in the U.S, Åberg spent six months in Europe competing in the Nordic Golf League, where he won two events. In December, he represented the International Team at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup.
In February 2021, Åberg won the Jones Cup Invitational at Sea Island, Georgia after an opening round of 62, earning him a start at the RSM Classic on the PGA Tour. In April, he became the number one ranked amateur in Europe, by the European Golf Association. In June, he was runner-up at the European Amateur.
2022–2023
In the spring of 2022, Åberg turned down a 2-year-contract from the newly established LIV Golf League worth .
In April 2022 he won the individual title at the Big 12 Men's Golf Championship. In May 2022, he was named the Ben Hogan Award winner, as the best college player in the United States. In September 2022, he represented Sweden at the 2022 Eisenhower Trophy, where his team finished second and he tied 7th individually. He rose to number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for the first time on 21 September 2022.
Åberg earned an invitation to compete in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour in January 2023 through leading the PGA Tour University rankings in autumn 2022. In Dubai, he held a share of the lead after the first round. In February 2023, he won The Prestige for a third consecutive year. In March, he received a sponsor exemption to the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour, where he finished in tied 24th place. In April 2023, he broke the scoring record at the Big 12 Men's Golf Championship, to become the first golfer to retain the individual title. In May 2023, he became the second two-time winner of the Ben Hogan Award.
Åberg secured fully exempt status on the PGA Tour through the 2024 season by finishing on top of the 2022–23 PGA Tour University rankings, the first year of this exemption in force. He turned professional in June 2023, ending his amateur career ranked number one on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Professional career
Åberg made his debut as a professional in June 2023 at the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA Tour, where he made the cut and finished in a tie for 25th place. In July, at the John Deere Classic, he recorded his first top-10 on the tour; a final-round 63 put him in a tie for fourth place, three strokes behind winner Sepp Straka.