Ludvig Aberg was a welcome infusion of talent for Texas Tech this fall. The Swede entered his freshman season in Lubbock, Texas off a run to the Round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur then proceeded to compete in the Red Raider lineup in each of the team’s four fall starts. Texas Tech won three of those events.
On Tuesday, Aberg finished off a win at the Sun Bowl Marathon All-America Golf Classic, a 54-hole offseason event at El Paso Country Club in El Paso, Texas, for the nation’s top collegians.
Aberg put in his work early, going 14 under in his first 36 holes. He put together an impressive six-birdie streak on the back nine of his opening round. His 7-under 28 on that side helped him to an opening 62. When he followed that with a bogey-free, 5-under 66 in the second round, Aberg all but clinched it.
Aberg wasn’t quite as sharp in the final round, but even with two bogeys in his final four holes, he still was able to finish at 13 under for a four-shot victory over Louisville junior Matthias Schmid, the reigning European Amateur champion.
Aberg credited a devotion to his putting over the past month.
“My putting was really strong, especially in the first round on Monday,” he told the El Paso Times. “Overall, I felt like I played well and had a good effort. Putting was something I really wanted to be better at and I felt good about that part of the game. I really liked this course. As a golfer, you can be aggressive at the tee. This is such a strong tournament and there is a lot of history here. I really enjoyed my time playing it.”
Behind Schmid, Arkansas senior Mason Overstreet and Arkansas State senior Zan Luka Stirn tied for third at 8 under.
Georgia sophomore Trent Phillips had a final-round, 4-under 67, the best round of the day, to climb into a tie with Oklahoma senior Garett Reband.
Reband’s Oklahoma teammate Quade Cummins won the event a year ago, but this week tied for 24th after stringing together three consecutive rounds of even-par 71.
