After taking most of the fall off to recover from knee surgery, Ludvig Åberg is eager to defend his title this week at the RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia.
Aberg said he was away from the game for about four weeks.
"I've had some time off. It's been quite nice," Aberg told reporters Tuesday. "... The first two weeks, I did not miss it at all, I'm not gonna lie. But the last couple of weeks, it's been itching in my fingers quite a bit, so it's been nice to get back into practicing, playing a lot more at home."
Less than 18 months ago, Aberg had just finished a successful collegiate career at Texas Tech and received a tour card through the PGA Tour University pathway. He won on the DP World Tour last September, made the European Ryder Cup team and then finished his year by capturing the RSM Classic by four strokes after back-to-back rounds of 9-under 61.
"It's a place that I really like coming to, and the golf has been great to me so far," Aberg said of Sea Island. "So looking forward to keeping that up."
Aberg, who is No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking, hasn't won a tournament since, but his 2024 highlights include a second-place finish at the Masters and a tie for second at the BMW Championship.
During the spring, his knee began to act up, and he played through the pain as doctors advised surgery, which he had in New York after the playoffs in early September.
"It's been nice to have a little break," Aberg 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."
