Ludvig Åberg is back.
After having surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee in September, an injury that had bothered him since before the PGA Championship in May, Åberg will return to defend his title at this week’s RSM Classic in Georgia. It will mark his first competitive start since the Tour Championship in August, when he finished solo 16th. The Tour Championship also marked his 19th event of 2024, his first full season on the PGA Tour.
Before making his East Lake debut, Åberg posted a T-2 at the BMW Championship in Colorado, where he finished one stroke behind Keegan Bradley. That marked his third runner-up of the season, as the young Swede also posted eight top 10s despite his left knee bothering him for the better part of six months. He even finished solo second at Augusta National in his first major start.
But he could not get over the hump and win, unlike last year when he confirmed his PGA Tour stardom with an emphatic—and historic—win at the RSM Classic.
He set the tournament record by posting a 72-hole score of 29-under-par, an incredible figure only seven players have surpassed in PGA Tour history. The young Swede shot a pair of 9-under 61s on Saturday and Sunday to win by four, thus affirming European Captain Luke Donald’s decision to include him in the Ryder Cup, even before he teed it up in a major.
How he will play remains to be seen. But immediately after his surgery in September, Åberg announced that it “went well” on Instagram, so you have to presume that he is ready to play. He has spent the better part of two months resting and recuperating and will now test his knee to see how it fares. Should everything go smoothly this week, and as long as he has no setbacks, Åberg will begin the 2025 season beaming with confidence. He also arrives in Georgia as the overwhelming betting favorite, according to FanDuel.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
