The English European captain presented his six picks on Monday and as expected, Ludvig Åberg, 14th on the world ranking, was among the lucky ones.
After making a big success as a newly become pro, Åberg got to debut in the latest edition of the golf classic, when Europe defeated the USA in Rome two years ago. Now he gets to try how it is to play away when the Ryder Cup is decided at Bethpage Black outside New York, 26–28 September.
"More experienced now"
I feel without a doubt as a more experienced player now. Last time it was so early in my professional career and I had an absolutely fantastic week in Rome. It was the first time for me in such a context, where I got to be in the same locker room as all these legends, says Ludvig Åberg in Viaplay's broadcast.
Other expected players who were selected by Luke Donald were Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland and Sepp Straka. In advance, it was a big question mark who would become the sixth and last captain's pick and it became Matt Fitzpatrick.
Scandinavian super duo
Maybe Ludvig Åberg can again get to form a pair with Hovland. During the Ryder Cup 2023, the Swedish-Norwegian duo made history when they in foursome defeated the USA's star duo Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Kopeka with 9/7 – the biggest victory in the competition's history.
It is one of the highlights of my career. I love to look back on that day, it would be fantastic to get to play together again, says Åberg.
Six players have already secured their places in Europe's team via the Ryder Cup ranking: Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Rasmus Højgaard and Tyrrell Hatton.
When the "team photo" is to be taken, it will therefore look like exactly the same Europe as two years ago. The only difference is hard to discern with the naked eye: the Dane Nicolai Højgaard has had to give way to his twin brother Rasmus Højgaard.
The American captain Keegan Bradley presented his picks last week and chose then, after much speculation, not to select himself for the team.
USA's twelve players: Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, JJ Spaun, Russell Henley, Harris English, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns, Ben Griffin and Cameron Young.
