Europe has America to thank for Ludvig Aberg – and half its Ryder Cup team

It is fair to say not many Americans, let alone red-blooded Texans, will openly be cheering for the men in blue in Rome this weekend. But there will be one. “I suppose some might accuse me of a lack of patriotism,” admits Greg Sands. “But I can’t help it. It’s like having one of your own kids out there.”

Sands is the long-time head coach at Texas Tech university, the alma mater of Ryder Cup debutant and Team Europe wunderkind Ludvig Aberg. The man responsible, in other words, for developing Europe’s not-so-secret weapon here at Marco Simone.

Aberg may only have been a professional for four months, making the Swede the first player from either continent to play in a Ryder Cup before playing in a major. But the 23-year-old is already one of Luke Donald’s go-to men – he has been thrust into Friday’s opening session, paired with Viktor Hovland against US rookies Brian Harman and Max Homa.

Since graduating in May, Aberg’s form has been extraordinary for a rookie. Fourth at the John Deere Classic, fourth at the Czech Masters, a first professional win at the European Masters (where the Swede stunned Matt Fitzpatrick by reeling off four straight birdies on the back nine on the Sunday).

At Wentworth two weeks ago, in the DP World Tour’s flagship event, Aberg headed into the final day on -16, with a two-shot lead. He eventually faded to finish in a tie for 10th, posting a 76. But Sands is not concerned.

“It was his first round over par in 13 rounds,” he says. “Ludvig will have learnt a lot from that experience. You never want to project or predict how he might do this week but everything I’ve seen tells me he will relish the Ryder Cup. The kid is special.”

Sands should know. To say that Aberg impressed during his US college career would be understating things.

The US college system is the most competitive breeding ground for professional golfers anywhere in the world – and increasingly responsible for training up Europe’s stars. A record six Europeans, half of this year’s squad, played in college programmes across the pond (Aberg, Matt Fiztpatrick, Bob MacIntyre, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka and Hovland) where they sharpened their skills against the best American prospects. That number becomes seven if you include captain Luke Donald.

That is up from four in 2021, three in 2018 and three in 2016. Expect that number to rise, especially if the DP World Tour continues to lose marquee names to the PGA and LIV tours.

Aberg was head and shoulders above the best in the US. Eight victories (a programme record), multiple victories in three straight seasons (a programme record), back-to-back Ben Hogan awards for best US college golfer (only the second time in the award’s history after Rahm), and back-to-back individual medallist at the Big 12 Conference Championship (the only player in conference history).

Aberg ended his days with the ‘Red Raiders’ as the No 1-ranked amateur in the world, having made history by becoming the first player to secure his Tour card via collegiate merit as part of the new PGA Tour University programme. The fact that the PGA Tour now offers the leading college golfer a card will only increase the stampede.

“I don’t think without the PGA Tour I would be here,” Aberg admitted on Tuesday. “They are continuing to develop the University programme, and I know it’s going to make college golf better. It’s going to make amateur golf better and eventually it’s going to make pro golf better, too. It’s very cool, and I’m lucky to be the first guy to take advantage of this.”

Sands says Aberg’s play, particularly in his final year at Texas Tech, with all that was on the line, was simply astonishing.

“I mean, we were the one programme with full PGA Tour status on the line. He knew it was on his shoulders. That’s a lot for any kid to handle. But not only did he do it, he widened his lead. Basically playing for his dream. He was able to continue playing his normal game and not tighten up. I mean, I wasn’t surprised. I’ve seen it over four years.”

Sands jokes that he and his assistant took to calling Aberg ‘Ken’ – “as in Barbie and Ken just because he was such a model pro; 6ft3in, athletic, good-looking”. Justin Rose conferred another nickname on Aberg recently when said he had “heard about this stud on the college scene”. Stud is a generic term for any young gun golfer in the US, but with Aberg it has stuck. He was asked about it in his press conference earlier this week. “I mean, it’s very flattering for sure,” he laughed. “I’ll be very proud if someone calls me that. It’s pretty cool. Thank you.”

Sands says that sort of response is typical of a young man who has no hint of arrogance about him, who turned down a $2 million offer from LIV to quit college a year early, preferring to work on his game with Sands and swing coach Hans Larsson, who has worked with him since he was at the ‘Riksidrottsgymnasium’, his secondary school in Helsingborg.

“We spoke about it at the time,” Sands says. “I really thought he was ready to turn pro but he believed he had things in his game which he wanted to work on; his putting, a few things to do with reads and lies. That was very mature on his part and history has shown he made the right call. That’s to his credit.

“Ludvig really is a model pro. Although he was obviously such a strong player, it was never about him. It was always about the Red Raiders first.”

His team-mates are certainly convinced. Rory McIlroy says he has moved right to the “front of the Aberg bandwagon”. There is a real sense that this double agent – born in Sweden, made in Texas – could be key to Europe’s chances of success. If he is, they may have to buy Sands a nice bottle of Chianti. He jokes he will have to stay clear of the US team room for fear of a lynching.

“Obviously I’m American and I’ve always supported the US team,” he says. “And I know a lot of the guys in Rome. But I think I’m going to be rooting for Europe. It really is like having one of your own kids out there. I want to see Ludvig celebrating a win.”