Rory McIlroy cannot wait to tee it up with Ludvig Åberg at this week's BMW PGA Championship after declaring himself "at the front" of the Swede's bandwagon.
Åberg claimed a maiden DP World Tour win in Switzerland earlier this month in just his sixth start and third as a professional, just a day before being handed a captain's pick for the Ryder Cup by European captain Luke Donald.
The 23-year-old only entered the paid ranks in June after claiming his second Big 12 Men's Golf Championship on the US collegiate circuit and picking up many accolades along the way.
He now makes his third Rolex Series appearance at Wentworth Club - with McIlroy and Viktor Hovland for company on days one and two - and, after a Ryder Cup scouting trip at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club earlier this week, World Number Two McIlroy is eager to see more of his new team-mate.
"I had an opportunity to play with Ludvig for the first time on Monday, which I was excited about," he said. "I told him, 'I've been looking forward to this for a while'.
"He probably exceeded (expectations). Everyone talks about what a great driver of the golf ball he is, which he is. The ball-striking is incredible.
"But I was really impressed with his wedge play and how he can sort of control his trajectory with shorter clubs. I was on the bandwagon before - certainly at the front of it now."
Åberg will be one of four rookies on the European team in Italy, while McIlroy tees it up in his seventh Ryder Cup, having missed only one session since his 2010 debut.
The Northern Irishman admits Europe are currently in a period of "transition" but is confident there will be plenty of harmony between the old heads and new faces.
"I felt like the 12 of us are on the same level, there's no type of hierarchy on the team," he said.
"I remember the 2012 Ryder Cup: I went in there number one player in the world, I had won two Majors in the last two years and I still didn't feel like I could speak up in the team room.
"This doesn't feel like that, which I think is really good. Just making the new guys as comfortable as possible. To me, that's a really cool thing about the last couple of days.
"I don't think any of these guys need their hand held in any way. I'd rather them look across to me than look up at me."
McIlroy arrives in Surrey at the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex and looking to make it three consecutive Rolex Series victories in 2023 after his wins in Dubai and Scotland.
He also has an excellent record at Wentworth, with a win, two seconds and another top ten in his last five appearances and is looking forward to getting going at DP World Tour HQ.
"Wentworth has got some really great memories for me over the years from coming here and watching the World Match Play with my mum and dad as a kid and playing in a lot of these tournaments, also," he said.
"The course is in fantastic shape. The greens are pretty firm, I guess, after the good weather that we've had over the last couple of weeks.
"The rough is pretty thick which is a good precursor to a couple of weeks' time. So overall, it's in fantastic shape.
"Golf course is set up well and we've got a great field assembled as well so it looks like it will be a great week."
