Ryder Cup star Ludvig Åberg admits he needs to slow down his game after having pace-of-play issues.
Åberg is so quick that he is made to wait more than most other players due to the slow play problem that continues to plague the PGA Tour.
“If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s to take things a little slower. It’s okay if it takes an extra moment or two just to make sure everything is right and it’s almost as if everything around me goes in slow motion. If I feel like I have all the time in the world, my chances of hitting a good golf shot goes up,” said the 26-year-old.
“I’m not necessarily saying when I’m over the ball, when you’re reading your putt, take one more lap around it, or when you’re walking form your tee shot to your second shot, maybe just slow down a little bit rather than actually getting faster.”
Writer Sean Zak, speaking on this week’s episode of the Sky Sports Golf Podcast, said: “Some of his pace is lost on the TV viewer. I watched him at Pinehurst in 2024 when he’s playing with Bryson DeChambeau in the final pairing. It was stunning how fast he plays golf and it’s so tough for us for wanting him to succeed, but we also want him to be fast.”
Simon Holmes, a well-renowned golf instructor, was a guest in the Sky Sports studio at the Valero Texas Open in April.
“What you have to do is recognise the pace of play,” Holmes explained. “For me I think Ludvig tends to hit last in his group and he is almost always the first to the golf ball.
“You have to be able to pace yourself. Maybe that is something he can work on with his caddie, who I was with last week in Sweden and chatting about how do you get used to going from college to the Tour.
“For me it’s learning the pace of play. Don’t be arriving at your ball ready to go. He is a fast player on a slow Tour and that’s a difficult thing he’s going to have to manage.”
‘Doing the same things over and over’
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Henni Koyack and Zane Scotland use the Audi Performance Zone to explain how Ludvig Aberg uses the ground in his swing
The Swedish European Ryder Cup star used a mallet putter at the Charles Schwab Challenge at the weekend to join the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood and said he has improved at managing his own game since becoming a professional in June 2023.
“I try to make my game more predictable. I try to make it so things don’t really change on a day-to-day basis and it becomes a lot easier. I think me and my caddie Joe [Skovron] have a great relationship in how we see a golf course, how to attack a golf course and how we try to work Tuesday, Wednesday prepping for it,” Åberg said.
“I think golf is doing the same things over and over and get really good at that instead of trying to find new things. It might sound really boring but I view that as a really great skill.”
A major champion in 2026?
Åberg, who continues to chase his first major, added: “I felt like I’ve had some chances but over these next couple of years I’m going to have some really good chances which is very encouraging to me. You’re going to win a lot but it’s also going to be tough.
“If it happens this year I will be the happiest guy in the world.”
The DP World Tour’s European Swing continues at the KLM Open in the Netherlands, live from Thursday through to Sunday on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream golf with no contract
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