Texas Tech's Ludvig Aberg teams with Viktor Hovland for Ryder Cup record rout
Ludvig Aberg this spring swept the three awards that go to the outstanding player in U.S. college golf.
Now the Texas Tech sensation is making himself at home as a pro and taking on the world.
Aberg and Viktor Hovland, two former Big 12 golf stars, routed five-time major winner Brooks Koepka and world No. 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler 9 & 7 Saturday morning outside Rome, Italy, setting a record for the largest margin of victory in a Ryder Cup foursomes match.
The triumph by the Ben Hogan Award winners from Texas Tech and Oklahoma State extended Team Europe's lead over Team USA to 7 1/2 to 1 1/2 to start the second day of the 44th Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.
Aberg and Hovland finally lost some steam in the afternoon four-ball matches, losing 4 & 3 to Sam Burns and Collin Morikawa. The day ended with the Europeans leading 10 1/2 to 5 1/2.
On Sunday's final day, Aberg is scheduled to match up against Koepka in singles.
Aberg and Hovland were coming off a 4 & 3 win in Friday's alternate-shot match session over British Open champion Brian Harman and Max Homa.
Against Koepka and Scheffler, it was never a contest. The young Europeans were 4-up after Aberg nearly aced the 188-yard 4th hole, hitting his tee shot within a foot. Aberg drained a mid-range putt on No. 6 to put him and his partner 5-up, pumping a fist after it fell.
Aberg and Hovland finished it off in record fashion by winning holes 8 through 11, the Americans conceding on the last hole.
According to The Associated Press, the previous record for foursomes was 7 and 6, most recently when Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley beat Luke Donald and Lee Westwood at Medinah in 2012. The record for a fourballs match is 7 and 5, while the singles record 8 and 7.
Aberg, a Team Europe captain's pick by Donald, is the first player to make a Ryder Cup team before playing in a major. His selection came three months after the 23-year-old Swede turned pro, the shortest time by any player in the modern era.
Now he has another record and, increasingly, the attention of the golf world.
All about Ludvig Aberg: The climb to the top: College golf's two-time player of year eyes future on PGA Tour
More: Aberg wins PGA Tour card, two more national awards
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech's Ludvig Aberg teams with Hovland for Ryder Cup record rout
