TORONTO — Thursday was another milestone day for former Ludvig Aberg.
The former Texas Tech golfer was named the men’s Big 12 player of the year and he shot a 3-under-par 69 at the RBC Canadian Open in his first tournament since earning a PGA Tour card.
The two-time Ben Hogan Award winner made five birdies and two bogeys at Oakdale Golf & Country Club and was two shots off the lead among the early finishers. Four players were in the clubhouse at 67. The group at 69 includes US Open champions Justin Rose and Lucas Glover.
Aberg, as a senior this school year at Texas Tech, won four tournaments, including the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA Norman Regional. He became the seventh player to sweep the three awards that designate the player of the year in college golf: the Ben Hogan Award, the Fred Haskins Award and the Jack Nicklaus Award.
On Thursday, he joined countryman Fredrik Nilehn as the only Red Raiders to be named the Big 12 player of the year. Nilehn won the honor in 2018.
Perhaps more important to Aberg’s immediate future, the 23-year-old from Sweden was the top point-getter on the PGA Tour University rankings. PGA Tour U, established in 2020, awarded for the first time this year, a PGA Tour card to its points leader at the end of the season. It grants Aberg full status immediately through the end of the 2024 season.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech golf’s Ludvig Aberg opens with a 69 at Canadian Open