Ludvig Åberg opened up about his recent knee injury but remained confident ahead of his first PGA Championship.
Ludvig Åberg did not compete in the Wells Fargo Championship last week because of a knee injury. This generated plenty of concern, given his impressive performances leading up to the sixth Signature Event of the season.
However, the sixth-ranked golfer in the world is ready to go at Valhalla Golf Club for his second career major at this week’s PGA Championship.
“Knee’s good,” Åberg said Wednesday.
“I’m consulting with my doctors, and I trust them with everything I have, so it’s not bothering me at all this week, and I look forward to playing.”
The former Texas Tech Red Raider withdrew for precautionary reasons, but he does not have any worries about his knee. He will wear a brace this week, just in case.
Last week marked the first time in which Åberg missed a professional event due to an injury. It was new territory for him.
“I think last week was more of a safety concern than anything,” Åberg explained.
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Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
“I was at home making sure that I was going to be ready for this week and prepare myself the best way I could and then be ready to play here.”
In his first major, Åberg almost chased down Scottie Scheffler at Augusta National. A double bogey on the 11th sealed his fate, leaving him short of winning the Green Jacket. The 24-year-old followed that up with a top-10 finish at the RBC Heritage.
Åberg turned professional a year ago after he accepted his PGA Tour card as the top-ranked player on the PGA Tour University rankings. He has shot up the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) rankings since then, thanks to his victories at the DP World Tour’s Omega European Masters last September and the RSM Classic later that year.
He also received a captain’s pick for the victorious European Ryder Cup team in Rome. Åberg went 2-2-0, which included a historic 9 & 7 win alongside Viktor Hovland over Scheffler and Brooks Koepka.
But now his focus is on making his PGA Championship debut. The Swedish golfer will begin his opening round alongside Xander Schauffele and two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas at 7:53 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
