Ludvig Aberg is a physical specimen. He looks like he was conceived in a scientist’s lab and could have been the stunt double for Rocky’s Ivan Drago. There’s a reason why his teammates at Texas Tech University called him Ken, a reference to the Barbie character. If this golf thing doesn’t work out, he could probably make it as a model for Levi’s Jeans or Jockey shorts. Which makes it a bit ironic that when asked at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego to name his favorite club in the bag, the 24-year-old Swede picked his 7-wood, a club more commonly found in the bag of aging amateurs rather than that of the sixth-ranked player in the world.
“I feel like I can hit it a lot of different ways, it’s very versatile. I can hit it high, hit it low, turn it over, cut it. So I would say I like that one,” Aberg said during his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday. “It was actually this tournament last year was the first time I used it. We kind of played around with it a little bit earlier in the year, me and my caddie, Joe. Felt like this was a good week to try it out because there’s some long par 3s, long par 4s. Almost if you get a half decent amount of rough you can sort of hit it out there. I’m not going to leave it out of the bag anytime soon.”
There’s no shame these days in pulling a headcover off a wood as Aberg proves. He is one of golf’s five-tool players and blessed with a swing that is both powerful and efficient. It’s the type of swing that makes envious pros stop and watch.
“When it’s good, when it’s on, it’s really nice. I like the simplicity of it and that’s the way that me and my coach are working. We’re not trying to reinvent anything, we’re trying to keep it very simple,” he said. “I understand the technical part of golf, but I’m not obsessed with it. I’m not diving super deep into those conversations. I know my swing, I know my tendencies and that’s really all I try to do. Because golf is hard enough as it is that I try to keep it as easy as I can.”
Aberg, the 2023 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, avoided a sophomore slump last season but failed to get into the winner’s circle. He’s among the favorites this week at Torrey Pines Golf Course in sunny San Diego, which he proclaimed to be his favorite place in the world.
“It’s almost like you’re looking down at the water and it gives me a little bit of peace,” he said. “The air feels so crisp when you come out the doors.”
And the golf course, which favors the bombers and a player whose irons can scrape the sky and is a dead-eye putter, suits him too.
“I like my chances when I’m playing at Torrey. That’s one of the reasons why I had it circled on my calendar,” he said.
In fact, Aberg has heard the rumors that Torrey Pines may step in and serve as the replacement location for the Tour’s Genesis Invitational, which begins Feb. 13 but is moving to a different location due to the wildfires in greater Los Angeles. He wouldn’t mind a return engagement and a chance to tee it up a second time in his favorite locale.
“No pushback from me,” he said. “Bring it here, please.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Ludvig Aberg loves Torrey Pines, San Diego and this surprising club
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