How 1 strange 'rule' tells the story of Ludwig Aberg's wild rookie year

NORTH BERWICK, Scotland – If you've spent any time around Ludwig Aberg, you've learned at least two of his gifts.

The first is to hit high, beautiful, arcing, devastatingly accurate golf shots; and the second is to avoid talking about the first.

Try as you might to get Ludwig Aberg to admit that his golf skills are brilliant and jaw-dropping and as simple as they seem, you won't get him to agree. So far, it's been a year in a rookie season that has seen Aberg rise from a “talented collegiate player” to a bonafide golfer, rising to No. 4 in the world within months of arriving on the scene.

In the Nordic countries, they have a word for this gift. It's called the Law of the Rim – or just Janteloven – defined by its Wikipedia page as “a social condition of disapproval of human expression and personal achievement.” In short, Janteloven it's egotism – a reminder to never think of yourself as bigger or better or smarter than those around you.

Aberg held his home state in contempt for swagger, as he willingly reminded us all at the Genesis Scottish Open Friday, the same day he shot consecutive 64s to steal the 36-hole championship. A few minutes after completing another excellent performance of six-birdie, and bogey, he went in front of the media and died.

“I wouldn't describe myself as a star,” he said quickly. “All I try to do is play good golf. These past few months have changed my life on the golf course, but they haven't really changed me. I am still the same person, and that will not change in the future.”

This was the quintessential Aberg, if the 24-year-old rookie could be quintessence. To rebel, to duck, to play down. Thanks for letting his golf tell the story, and I'm glad golf had more to say.

And it goes back to what his golf has said to us over the past 12 months. Like, for example, in his outstanding Ryder Cup debut, where the hole seemed to be the size of a European trouncing watermelon. Or his first PGA Tour win, introducing the vets a few weeks into his rookie season at the RSM Classic. Despite his Masters near miss, when he finished second in his first ever major tournament, he lost only to a flawless performance from the World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Even his rare shot – the first North American to miss the cut at the PGA Championship – was followed by three straight top-30s and tied with another wire-to-wire run in the US Open T12.

Aberg came into this week's Scottish Open with his first golf season coming to an end. He will travel across the country to Royal Troon on Monday for the Open Championship where he will make his first start in golf's major tournament, then return home for his first postseason race on the PGA Tour. He says that when this is over, he will take a breather with his girlfriend, friends and family. Then it's the second year.

“Diversification is important. “Every time I come home from the golf course, I take off my work hat,” said Friday, smiling as he removed the brim of his white Adidas cap. “I think it's very important.”

It may be even more important. Nearly a year after leaving the collegiate ranks, the noise grew too much for Aberg to suppress. He made nearly $8 million in his first PGA Tour season — and if the next few weeks go well, he could be looking at more than $10 million by the end of his first full professional season. His name has gone from unfamiliar to the forefront of even the phonetically challenged golf fan's mind. (And let's be honest: The movie star looks harmless, too.)

And yet when Aberg talks about his golf game, he often chooses the same word that asks questions: acceptance. Accept the result, he says, good or bad. Whether that means getting your approach hit by another golf ball and leaving the green, as he did on Thursday, or driving the green on a par-4 to sink your sixth birdie of the day, as he did on Friday. It's a Buddha-level way of looking at the world of golf, especially for a player nearing the end of his first professional season. Simply put, the idea that keeps him from putting himself in the spotlight.

With Aberg staring down the barrel of another 36-hole lead at the Scottish Open, acceptance it meant admitting an uncomfortable truth: he's human, and his eyes are already a little on the road. This week comes on the eve of the only major tournament won by a Swedish-born player – the Open Championship, which will easily return to Henrik Stenson's place of victory, Royal Troon. It's been circled on Aberg's calendar for a while now, and for good reason.

“I've said it many times, I think [the anniversary of Stenson’s win] it should be a national holiday,” said Friday, just kidding.

And what if Aberg could win the Open at Royal Troon on the same day?

“It would be like that definitely be a national holiday.”

Maybe then Ludwig Aberg will be willing to let his golfing gifts trump his humility.

However, at the moment, there is a different national law: the Jante Law.

Never be better than others. Even when the leaderboard says otherwise.

James Colgan

Golf.com Editor

James Colgan is a news editor and features at GOLF, writing articles for websites and magazines. He manages Hot Mic, the GOLF media stand, and applies his camera knowledge to all product platforms. Before joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, at which time he was the recipient of a caddy (and atute looper) scholarship on Long Island, where he hails from. He can be reached at [email protected].