Ludvig Aberg opens up on LIV Golf negotiations as PIF attempted triple swoop
Ludvig Aberg has revealed he turned down the chance to join LIV Golf on two occasions this year on the back of Jon Rahm's mega-money move to the breakaway league earlier this month.
Rahm became the latest big name to make the Saudi switch and did so in record-breaking fashion, signing a reported £450 million deal with the breakaway league. It appears Greg Norman and co did not want to stop at the Spaniard though in adding to their roster, and had gone after one his Ryder Cup teammates in Aberg.
The Swede has announced himself as golf's hottest protect in recent months, having won on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour as well as the Ryder Cup despite only turning professional on June.
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And it turns out Aberg had received offers either side of his decision to become pro, turning down the invite on both occasions. “There were a number of red flags, which is not good," he told Eurosport. "We realised that I could potentially burn a lot of bridges, and I wasn't interested in that.
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"When I look back, I am very confident in my decision. I will never chase money; what I do is compete. I did the right thing.” He went on: "I want to play against the best, because I am a competitive person and like to compete against the best players.
"Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that at the moment, it’s a bit more fragmented. When I look at the PGA Tour and the competitions there, there is so much history around all the competitions. And that’s what I like, that’s what I go for. But then you have to respect everyone’s decisions.”
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Viktor Hovland was also approached by LIV Golf (PA)Aberg is the third European Ryder Cup star to have been linked to the LIV setup with fellow Scandinavian Viktor Hovland also reportedly getting the call to join Rahm. Like the Swede, Hovland also opted to remain with the PGA Tour, but had some choice words for the circuit's bosses.
"I totally understand why he [Rahm] left," he told FORE. "That's a lot, a lot of money. And at least when the management of the PGA Tour has done such a bad job. Just to be clear: I'm not complaining about the position I'm in, and I'm very grateful for everything. But the management has not done a good job.
"They almost see the players as labour, and not as part of the members. After all, we are the PGA Tour. Without the players, there is nothing. When you then get to see what happens behind closed doors, how the management actually makes decisions, which are not in the players' best interest, but best for themselves and what they think is best.
"They are not professional golfers after all. They are businessmen who say that ‘No, it should look like this and that’. There is a great deal of arrogance behind it all.”
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