How good is Ludvig Aberg? Comparing the 23-year-old golfer’s debut season to Tiger Woods

Modified Sep 16, 2023 18:36 GMT

Ludvig Aberg and Tiger Woods won their maiden professional titles in their first season

Ludvig Aberg continued his great form on the DP World Tour as he carded a 6-under 66 on Friday, September 15, to share the 36-hole lead at the BMW PGA Championship. This marked his seventh consecutive round in the 60s.

Earlier this year, Aberg became the first player to earn a full PGA Tour exemption after finishing at the top of the 2022–23 PGA Tour University rankings. He turned professional in June and concluded his amateur career as the World No. 1.

Aberg won his first professional title, the Omega European Masters, on his ninth start as a professional and, overall, his sixth start on the DP World Tour. He also ended up becoming one of the six picks of Europe's Captain Luke Donald for the upcoming Ryder Cup.

The early success of the young Swedish can be compared to that of the veteran Tiger Woods, who too had great success as an amateur and didn't take much longer to announce himself on the professional circuit.

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Woods turned pro in 1996 at the age of just 20, and he was already a three-time consecutive US Amateur Champion and had won 21 Amateur titles. He is still the only player to win three titles at the event.

Woods didn't take long to register his first win, as he won the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational, his fifth start since turning pro. It didn't end just there, as the golfer registered his second win just two events later at the Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic.

Tiger's first season as a professional was remarkable, as he made cuts at all eight events and finished in the top 25 in seven of them, with five of those being top-five finishes, including the two wins. He went on to win 82 PGA Tour titles over the next 25 years, including 15 majors.

On the PGA Tour, the 23-year-old Swede made six cuts and registered four top-25 finishes. Although he has yet to have success on the PGA Tour, he had a great performance at the John Deere Classic, where he finished T4. However, fans can expect him to break into the American Tour soon, given the immense talent he possesses.

Whether Aberg will go on to become a legend like Woods remains to be seen, but the first steps seem to be in the right direction.