Directly after the final round of the PGA Tour's final tournament on Sunday, star Ludvig Åberg announced to Aftonbladet that he will undergo knee surgery on Thursday.
The decision to have an operation to fix the meniscus was made a while ago, says former golf star Peter Hanson, who is Åberg's mentor.
As I understand it, the operation is not particularly difficult, but as always when you're operating with a knife and cutting, there are risks. But if everything goes well, it's a relatively quick rehabilitation process.
"No stress"
Åberg's plan is to play in the European Tour's two final tournaments in the United Arab Emirates in November.
With reservations for how his rehabilitation goes – I'll be pushing for him not to stress, says Hanson.
Already during his major debut in the US Masters in April, the 24-year-old felt his knee. Before the PGA Championship in May, he opted out of the rehearsal as a precautionary measure.
It's hard to say how the injury occurred. Ludvig used to play football and it's not uncommon with meniscus injuries.
Hanson believes that the knee injury may have affected Åberg's long game somewhat, but that it has mainly limited the Swede's ability to fitness train as he wants.
It's become more focused on maintaining and making sure the knee works. It's never a nice feeling for a top athlete, especially not when you're 24 years old. Then you want to push, get better and stronger.
Åberg finished his first full season on the US tour by becoming 16th man in the final tournament, but the week before, he was tied for second in the second final tournament.
"Magically successful"
In just 15 months as a pro, Åberg has won in both the US and Europe, played in the Ryder Cup, and is now ranked fifth in the world.
His journey from amateur to pro has been magically successful. We can summarize it as a success.
World number one Scottie Scheffler won the final tournament and has dominated the season with seven titles – including the major US Masters, which he won ahead of the lone second-placed Åberg.
An incredible season by Scheffler, almost unbelievable. He's the benchmark, and I think it's good for Ludvig to have someone he can really measure himself against. Trying to challenge Scheffler will be one of the goals, says Peter Hanson.
Daniel Kihlström/TT
Facts: Åberg's Highlights 2024
TT
Some highlights for Ludvig Åberg during his first full year as a golf pro:
In late January, he became the solo second-place finisher at Pebble Beach – the final round was cancelled due to bad weather.
In March, Åberg finished eighth in The Players Championship – "the fifth major" – and climbed to ninth place on the world ranking.
His major debut in the US Masters in April ended with a solo second-place finish behind the dominant Scottie Scheffler.
In June, he led the major US Open after two rounds, but fell back during the third and finished in a tied 12th place. He became the new world number four after the tournament.
He finished tied for fourth in the Scottish Open, the rehearsal for the British Open, but missed the qualifying limit in the year's last major tournament. It's only the second missed "cut" in 19 tournaments under 2024 – the second came in the major PGA Championship.
He made his Olympic debut in the summer, but had to settle for a tied 18th place at Le Golf National outside Paris.
In August, he finished tied for second in the second final tournament in Colorado and went into the tour final as fifth. But his game on East Lake never lifted, and he finished 16th. He is ranked fifth in the world after the final tournament.
