Sweden’s Aberg makes the most of Classic invite in Dubai – News
Young Swede whizzes by on a cold day for a share of the management at Emirates Golf Club
Ludvig Aberg of Sweden tees off on the 8th hole during his first round on day two of the Dubai Desert Classic. — AP
When the organizers of the DP World Tour handed out one of their three elite invitations to Ludvig Aberg for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, little did they know it would spark one of the most sensational performances from the young Swede.
As a way of repaying their generosity, Aberg, the world’s leading amateur golfer, delivered a golfing masterclass in challenging conditions at Emirates Golf Club, to share first-round honors with English veteran Ian Poulter.
The unlikely duo were on seven-under 72 when light showers and fading light brought play to a premature end on Friday.
Auberg, who reached the top of the World Amateur Ranking in April 2021, showed a golfing maturity well beyond his years, carding as many as eight birdies despite starting the day with a bogey.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s starter and reigning world No. 1 Rory McIlroy was in a four-way tie for third at six under with Spain’s Angel Hidalgo, South Africa’s Louis de Jager and American Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters Champion.
However, the undisputed star of the day on a rain-affected Majlis Course was Aberg
To put into context how good the Swede was, you only need to look at joint leader Poulter, who is more than twice his age, has almost 20 years more experience and has already had 17 professional victories.
Aberg and Poulter may be on opposite sides of the golfing spectrum but there was so much in common between the two in terms of the attitude and skills they brought to Emirates Golf Club on Friday.
Despite not having the best start to the day needing three shots with his putter, which was perhaps as chilly as the weather, to clear the first, Aberg turned on the heater immediately to fire in back-to-back birdies at the second and third.
Two more birdies on the seventh and eighth would see the talented Swede, who was the top-ranked player in the PGA Tour University standings at the end of 2022, make the turn at four-under 32.
Still, on fire he would start the back nine with a confident birdie putt on the 10th, a feat he repeated on the 13th.
Proving he was as hot with his irons as he was with his putter, Aberg burned off the 16th tee to comfortably set up a birdie, his sixth of the round. Unwilling to relent, he made another birdie on the 16th thanks to a well-struck 16-foot putt that disappeared into the hole.
Still hungry for more birdies, Aberg came agonizingly close on the final two holes of the day but would return to the clubhouse a very happy young man.
While Aberg failed in his birdie attempts in the closing holes, Patrick Reed eagled the last to catapult him into a tie for third.
“I’m obviously really happy with the way I played,” he said. “I felt like last week wasn’t really a reflection of all the hard work I’ve done in the offseason. It was more about getting rusty playing tournament golf.
“So to come out this week feeling like I could put it all together and have my mind right on game planning and court management was definitely a plus.
“I’ve never seen this place before, and when I came in and saw it for the first time and knew and kind of realized that it’s more of a positional golf course rather than just hitting it anywhere, I feel like I was in full control over the golf ball and made a couple of putts.” Reed said.
He also had kind words to offer the ground staff who have been working tirelessly to get the rain-hit course ready for play.
“They’ve done an incredible job,” he said. “We’re in the desert and we don’t expect it to rain, and with how much it’s rained and for them to get the golf course not only playable but to get it where it’s in really good shape is amazing.
“It shows how good they are at their craft.”
Reed himself showed how good he was at his craft with the sensational 18th hole eagle.
“The greens are a little more receptive,” he remarked. “They roll well, and you know, the premium is just putting the ball in the fairway. Put the ball in the fairway and you’re always going to have a clean lie and a good look.
But if you start hitting it off-line, that’s how you’re going to start having problems here.”
While the tournament lost six hours on the first day on Thursday to the unseasonal rain, Friday morning’s resumption of the first round was further delayed by two hours as grounds crews worked hammer and tongs to get the course ready for play.
Which they did.
Points (after Round 1)
65: Ludvig Aberg (AM) SWE; Ian Poulter ENG -7
66: Angel Hidalgo ESP; Louis De Jager RSA; Rory McIlroy NIR; Patrick Reed USA
66: Richard Bland ENG;
67: Victor Perez FROM; Thomas Pieters BEL; Adri Arnau’s ESP; Oliver Bekker RSA;
68: Hennie Du Plessis’ RSA; Matthew Jordan ENG; Oliver Wilson ENG; Daniel Gavin’s ENG; Tommy Fleetwood ENG; Matt Wallace ENG 68 68; Connor Syme SCO; Jeunghun Wang CHOIR