Eerie omen suggests Ludvig Aberg could become first Masters rookie to win at Augusta in 45 years – and here’s why rising star can do it

The stars are aligning for rookie Ludvig Aberg at the 2024 Masters.

Well, maybe not the stars, but certainly the sun, moon and Earth following the recent solar eclipse that plunged much of North America into total darkness for the first time since 2017.

It’s been 45 years since a debutant won the Masters – that was Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, who triumphed in a three-way sudden-death match with Ed Sneed and Tom Watson.

Oddly enough, there was a solar eclipse that year as well, and this ominous omen could be a positive sign that Swedish prodigy Aberg could become only the fourth rookie to win the coveted green jacket.

The 24-year-old certainly has the game to do it, and according to three-time major champion Pádraig Harrington, he is one of the dark horses at Augusta National this week.

“I would say of any signing he has the game to win,” the Irish star exclusively told talkSPORT.

“He really has the game to win it.

“It’s a big ask to go to the Masters, but he’s a great ball striker and Augusta has become much more of a big driver recently, and the greens there are so important.”

“It’s so difficult around the greens,” Harrington continued.

“It kind of cancels out guys with a good short game because it’s just hard to go up and down whether you’re good or bad.

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“You can go down in threes, but it’s hard to go down in twos for a reason.

“But if you can drive the ball well, you can break the back of the golf course there.

“And Ludvig is hands down one of the best drivers in the game.”

The young Swede is considered a generational talent and has been touted as one of golf’s “next players” long before he turned professional in June 2023.

This time last year, the youngster was still at Texas Tech and ranked number one in the world amateur golf rankings.

He won the Ben Hogan Award as the best collegiate player in the United States in 2022 and 2023, and finished atop the 2022-2023 PGA Tour University rankings to become a member of the tour.

This was before his breakthrough which saw him win on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour within five months of turning professional.

He went on to be part of Europe’s winning Ryder Cup team, becoming the first golfer to compete in a Ryder Cup before competing in a major championship.

Aberg now arrives at Augusta National ranked 9th in the Official World Golf Ranking not only for his Masters debut, but also for his major beginning.

He has placed in the top 25 in each of his last five tournaments, including second place at Pebble Beach and eighth at the Players Championship last time out.

Aberg has been a professional for just seven months and finds himself in the unusual position of being considered a dark horse at golf’s most prestigious and famous tournament.

He’s so young he didn’t even know Zoeller was the last rookie to win at Augusta.

“I actually didn’t know this statistic until now,” the Swede said during his pre-tournament press conference.

“But, yeah, I mean, I think it’s a testament to how difficult the golf course is and how difficult some of the things that might be thrown at you at the tournament are. But there’s not really much I can do about that. subject. “.

The Masters debutant knows he’ll have to deal with all sorts of emotions this week, but he’s doing his best to stay balanced.

“Yes, it’s a delicate balance because obviously I feel all the first feelings that everyone else feels, but I’m also trying to accept all these things that are happening to me at the same time,” he said. for follow-up.

“Because I think once you start fighting it, once you start trying to push it away, I think that’s where it gets tricky.

“So I guess all I’m trying to do is just accept all the nervousness and all the excitement that I feel and at the same time know my abilities and my qualities and know that it will be probably enough to compete.

“I can’t make any promises, but I’m definitely going to make sure that come Thursday I’m as prepared as possible.”

The 2024 first round has been delayed.

The Masters has issued a weather update as severe storms batter the southeastern United States.

“We continue to closely monitor the weather”, the tournament job.

“Gate openings and start times have been delayed until further notice. The first round will not start until 9am (2pm UK time).”