In 2024, Ludvig Åberg came into the Valero Texas Open with a different vibe. He had played in the tournament before as a rookie when he failed to make the cut, but last year was his first time there as a pro. Raw and still learning the ropes around the circuit, Aberg has always stood apart from the rest of the youngsters. He finished an impressive T14, and then he followed it up with an even more blinder of a result. In his Augusta debut at Augusta in 2024, Aberg finished 2nd, 4 strokes behind Scottie Scheffler. Four majors and a PGA Tour victory later, the Swede is back in Texas, mature, understanding, and calculating, looking forward to every event as if he has a point to prove.

Speaking to the press ahead of his return to the PGA Tour after his two-week hiatus post The PLAYERS Championship, Aberg remained very confident about wanting to improve his game more, especially with the Masters coming. When asked if playing the Texas Open would help him for Augusta, the young Swede explained his mindset.

“Yeah, I think so. I really enjoy this place. I like playing the week before just to sort of—now that I had two weeks off, I don’t want to say rust, I don’t like the word rust, but there’s getting into tournament mode, and the golf course really prepares you for that. It’s a challenging golf course, and you need to be very specific with your targets, just like at Augusta, where you obviously need to be on the correct side of things,” he said.

While his preparation is with Augusta in mind, he reiterated that his focus and performance are completely centered around the Valero Texas Open this week. Once this is over, he will put his full focus on the Green Jacket. “But when I’m here and playing, I don’t really care about Augusta; I’m trying to be where I am and try to play well in this tournament, and then come Monday next week we’ll focus on Augusta,” Aberg added. Aberg’s sentiments are not very surprising. After all, it’s Masters. But hey, focus needs to be on the event you’re playing, at least for some.

You see, Aberg’s remarks directly contradict Akshay Bhatia’s words, especially the ‘I don’t really care about Augusta’ part. The 2024 Valero Texas Open champion has taken a drastically different approach compared: treating the Valero Texas Open as a trailer to the movie that is the Masters.

“I feel like it’s just another week. I have my mind really set on Augusta next week, so it’s a great week on this golf course to kind of learn where my game’s at and what kind of shots I need to improve on for next week. It’s a great golf course for that, very narrow, very tricky. It’s obviously going to be windy here. I just kind of feel normal,” Bhatia stated candidly ahead of his first-ever title defense. Last year, he finished 35th at the ANGC.

Although he is not focused on it now, Aberg will look at the Masters in a different light when it’s here. His approach to the Valero Texas Open indicates that many things have changed since last year.

Ludvig Aberg brings clarity on what is different this year

“I think there’s more of a sense of familiarity where I know that I’ve been in this position before. Obviously last year I hadn’t even played a major at this point, and before I played one, I didn’t really know what to expect before you actually get the chance to experience it. That was probably the biggest change.”  The World No. 5 explained what his experience was like.

Aberg surprised everyone at Augusta in 2024 as he fought toe-to-toe with the dominant Scottie Scheffler. However, where he lost out was on the first day, when he carded a one above par. Keep in mind that this was his first round at his first major tournament. Scottie Scheffler had registered an impressive 6-under par on the first day. That could be the experience difference Aberg was talking about.

That first day is unlikely to repeat for the Swede, having been through the whole rodeo before. “Having those sorts of experiences and knowing—playing Augusta when it’s windy or playing it in different sorts of conditions—experience is always going to help you. I feel like that was the case last year, where I came into the tournament and I didn’t really have those experiences, but now I do, which is quite nice. Try to use those to my advantage,” Aberg explained. The Valero Texas Open will be the ideal springboard for the Swedish golfer.

Do you think Aberg can win his third PGA Tour title in Texas? More importantly, can he improve on his last year’s finish at the Masters and join the celebrated list of major winners?