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While Rory McIlroy was putting on a Sunday clinic at the Wells Fargo Championship, Ludvig Aberg was back home marvelling at the TV like the rest of us.

Not because he hadn’t secured his entry into the Signature PGA Tour Event – Aberg has already made the elite tournaments his domain – but because of a knee problem that many worried could derail the Swede’s chances in this week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

Aberg was the only withdrawal from the Quail Hollow Club after citing the injury, which was the first time he had ever missed a golf tournament for fitness reasons.

That led to inevitable concerns heading into this week with hopes high after Aberg’s runner-up finish in his first ever major at last month’s Masters.

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However, this phenomenon’s growing legion of fans needn’t worry.

“Knee’s good,” Aberg clarified on Wednesday. “It was more of a safety concern last week that I didn’t play. I’m consulting with my doctors and I trust them with everything that I have, so it’s not bothering me at all this week, and I look forward to playing.

“I’m wearing a brace just for safety reasons, but it’s nothing that’s bothering me. I’m focusing on the golf.”

It’s that unwavering focus that has propelled Aberg from college pro to genuine superstar in just a matter of months.

In a year that has seen him transform from an unknown quantity to a Ryder Cup hero, multiple winner and now a serious major threat, Aberg has been determined to block out the noise.

“Not a ton to be honest,” he replied when asked how often he thinks about the schism between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, which continues to engulf the professional game.

“Obviously I’m still new to this. I’m still kind of getting the gist of all things that comes with professional golf. You know, it is what it is and all I try to do is play as good of golf as I can.”

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Aberg added: “Obviously I’m still doing a lot of firsts when I’m playing these tournaments. Obviously this week is my first PGA Championship and only my second major. I’m feeling all these things that first-timers do and it’s the same thing for me. So I try to focus on the golf.

“At the end of the day, this is what I’ve been wanting to do since I was a little boy and I love doing it.”

Seemingly free from injury and the strain of the game’s great divide, Aberg is among the names fancied to become the first PGA Championship winner at Valhalla since McIlroy back in 2014.

“We turned the TV on and I saw Rory was 20-under par, something like that,” he said after watching McIlroy steamroll to his 26th PGA Tour win in North Carolina last weekend. “It was pretty cool to see.”

Such has been Aberg’s stunning rise, nobody would be overly surprised to see the Swede brush off his knee issue and put on a similar masterclass and hoist the Wanamaker Trophy this weekend.


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Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.

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