The final event of FedEx Cup Fall will see journeymen and young players jostle for both PGA Tour playing privileges and job security. One player whose status will be unaffected no matter how he plays at the RSM Classic this week is reigning champion Ludvig Åberg, who will be teeing it up for the first time since the Tour Championship.
Having undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus the week following the postseason finale, the Swede aims to ease his way back into competition at the site of where he last entered the winner's circle. Åberg, who tied the PGA Tour scoring record reached 29 under for the tournament last year, confirmed he is ready to give it another go this week in Sea Island despite taking some time away from the game.
"I feel 100%, otherwise I wouldn't be here," Åberg said. "I had about four weeks off from playing golf; I didn't touch a golf club. Started hitting short pitches and wedges at first and then to kind of load it a little bit more and put more pressure on it. Now I'm actually a little bit stronger now than I was before, so that's good."
While Åberg's surgery wasn't until Sept. 5, he first started feeling pain during the middle of the PGA Tour season. Withdrawing from the Wells Fargo Championship as a precaution, the 25-year-old returned to action the following week at the PGA Championship with a brace around his left knee that limited his ability to bend down properly to read putts.
Åberg's knee injury and subsequent poor play were among reasons he was forced to pack his bags early at Valhalla. He ultimately found his groove over the summer, however, possessing the 36-hole lead at the U.S. Open and the 54-hole lead at the Scottish Open. His best result came in the playoffs where he finished runner-up to Keegan Bradley at the BMW Championship.
"I felt early in the year this must have been somewhere around April, May, something like that it started to act up a little bit," Åberg said. "I didn't really know what it was. We got it checked out and then I still felt fine, so it didn't hinder me in terms of my training or my play. So then, after consulting with a few doctors, I knew that I needed to have surgery at some point, but I also felt like I could last throughout the season, obviously playing through the playoffs and then after the playoffs was a good time to kind of deal with it and get it done."
Åberg arrived at last year's RSM Classic at the tail end of a whirlwind 2023 that saw him go from college golf to the Ryder Cup in just three months. Racing through his rookie year with wins on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, he opened up his 2024 schedule and played in golf's biggest events without ever taking a breath.
"It's been nice to have a little break," Åberg said. "It was probably the first break that I've had from golf since my senior year in college, so it was quite nice to kind of reflect a little bit, sit down and not having to go play a tournament at some point. Last couple weeks I've been itching to get out here. It's been a long time coming it feels like."
