There's no overstating the importance of a victory at the Open Championship, as far as Sweden's Ludvig Aberg is concerned.
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He makes his debut in the major this week at Royal Troon in Scotland, the same golf club where in 2016 his countryman Henrik Stenson won in dramatic fashion.
"I've said that a few times before, that day should be a national holiday in Sweden. It was a very cool day," Aberg said on Monday at a press conference in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland.
"I vividly remember watching that with my friends, and it's cool to see what he's done for Swedish golf, and (what) he's doing, so, obviously, was the pinnacle of that."
At 24, Aberg is very early in his career since turning professional in 2023 after a standout collegiate career at Texas Tech. He already has played for the European Ryder Cup Team and won two tournaments in 2023 on the DP World Tour (Omega European Masters) and PGA Tour (RSM Classic).
Ranked No. 4 in the world, Aberg has made 14 of 15 cuts in 2024 with seven top-10 finishes, including two runners-up at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February and the Masters in April.
His lone missed cut was at the PGA Championship in May, and in his third major of the year, he tied for 12th at the US Open in June. He was asked on Monday if The Open was the major he most wants to win.
"It is the one that's closer to home, definitely, and it is the one that I've watched growing up a little bit more, a little bit closer," Aberg said. "So I do feel that connection to The Open and to the UK.
"I love being here. I love playing these tournaments, and really looking forward to it."
Aberg is coming off a strong showing last weekend at the Genesis Scottish Open – at least for the first three rounds. He led by one stroke after rounds of 64-64, the best 36-hole score of his career, which established the two-round scoring record at The Renaissance Club in events where par is 70.
He carded a 65 in the third round to force a two-shot lead in North Berwick, Scotland. However, he sank into a tie for fourth with a 3-over-par 73 by posting one birdie against four bogeys in the final round at finished at 14 under for the tournament. Scotland's Robert MacIntyre birdied the final hole to win at 18 under.
Aberg said he has had issues with the accuracy of his driver over the last couple of weeks.
"As a golfer, you're always going to have tendencies that you work towards. It kind of progressed and got a little bit worse over the tournament," he said. "I'd say I got away with it a little bit more Friday and Saturday, but the tendencies were still there. Kind of like coming under it, behind it, flipping it, and it's not a very nice place to hit drivers from."
Inconsistencies with his swing have cost him over the course of a four-round tournament.
"I feel like I'm playing good golf," he said. "I'm working on the tendencies. I'm trying to score as well as I can. Sometimes you get away with a little bit more, and sometimes you get a little bit more exposed.
"I think (Sunday) was a good example of when I wasn't in the fairway, it was tough. Being better off the tee (Sunday) would have been a little bit easier, obviously, to score a better score.
"I still felt like there was a lot of good things last week, and if you put it in a bigger perspective, I'm obviously very happy with a top-5 finish."
Aberg's early success on tour might have created unrealistic expectations, but he's fine with that.
"I can't really speak for other people. I can only speak for myself," Aberg said. "I'm always going to have high expectations because I know what I can do and I know my abilities. I guess it's up to other people to say and think what they want. That's not really my place to say anything about.
"Yeah, obviously I'm always going to have high expectations of myself."