Sensational Ludvig Åberg wins Genesis Invitational – the all-new 2025 Pro V1x ball proves crucial
02/18/2025 10:00 AM
It's been quite a year so far for Sweden's Ludvig Åberg.
He opened 2025 with weekend rounds of 65-64 to grab a top five finish in The Sentry and then a first round 63 at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance Open helped him to the halfway lead.
Whereupon it all went wrong.
He got the flu and, despite fighting it, could only limp home in T42 and had to withdraw after 18 holes at Pebble Beach the following week with fatigue.
His next start offered redemption: back at Torrey Pines for the relocated Genesis Invitational.
Would he revive memories of that quick start or have unwanted echoes of his illness?
A first round 74 suggested the latter but rounds of 66 on Friday and Sunday ensured that the answer was, finally and emphatically, the former.
In fact, in making four birdies in the final six holes to catch and chase down the clubhouse leader Maverick McNealy, Åberg might have hinted at a huge year to come.
It was an imperious finale and one that was built on a superb display of driving. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, gaining a combined 10 strokes off the tee (+2.855), on approach shots (+5.432) and around the green (+1.713).
The Titleist brand ambassador plays TSR2 driver, T100 irons and Vokey SM10 wedges, but equally important last week might have been the fact that he has the new 2025 Pro V1x golf ball in play.
It was the 12th worldwide victory for players using the new 2025 Pro V1 and Pro V1x models – a list that also includes last week's runner-up McNealy who claimed the RSM Classic in his first start with the ball last November.
Åberg made the switch following testing with Fordie Pitts, Titleist's Director of Tour Validation and Research, and further on-course testing at home in Jacksonville, Florida.
He said: "Just to tighten that [spin] window a little bit was a big deal with the driver and my irons are just a little bit softer and more spin control I think around the greens. So I'll take that.
"The game at our level is so tight. A good season can be separated by just a couple of points here and there. If you can find just a little bit that'll make you a little bit better, a little bit more consistent or a little bit more control, I’m going to be up for it and I think most guys will do too."
Control is key to him playing the Pro V1x.
"I like to put spin on the ball," he said. "I like to hit it a little bit higher to have a little bit of a different angle coming into the firmer greens that we play here on the PGA Tour. The Pro V1x helps me with that and it helps me to be able to compete against the best players in the world.
"I just love the feel around the greens, putting, chipping, I love the softer feel and it flights the way that I want to."
That softer feel is crucial around the greens.
"What you want when you're chipping," he said, "is that little extra feeling of checking up on the green, and making sure that when the greens get a little firmer and faster, you're still able to put that spin on it. Which I feel like [the Pro V1x] allows me to do. Chipping and short game is such feel-based – what you like to feel, what you don’t like to feel. And this allows me to have that creative mindset."
There is also an element of the ball harking back to his early days.
"I used to live in a small town," he said. "I would always go into the woods and look for Pro V1's. Every time you found a new one, found a really nice one, that was like the best feeling. I used to have a ball bag of all my Pro V1's that I found. Every once in a while you got to go into the pro shop and get a new one, but it didn't happen very often. Now we’re super spoiled.
"The Titleist golf ball is the best golf ball there is. I've used it for a very long time and it's something I trust."
In Ludvig Åberg's bag:
Ball: Titleist 2025 Pro V1x
Driver: TSR2 9.0 driver
Irons: T100 4-P
Wedges: Vokey Design SM10 50.08F, 54.10S, 60.08M wedges
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