When Tom McKibbin declined to join the PGA Tour and instead joined LIV Golf, the future pro also threw away what seemed like a more likely path to the major championships.
Playing in LIV Golf, there are still no world ranking points, meaning it’s difficult to climb high enough on the OWGR to earn at-large invitations. McKibbin instead had to focus on limited starts elsewhere, like this week’s Asian Tour debut (where dozens of LIV pros were also in the field).
McKibbin went into the final round leading by one – then he won seven.
The 22-year-old Northern Irishman cruised to victory at the Hong Kong Open on Sunday, and thanks to a recent change to the qualifying criteria, he earned an invitation to the 2026 Masters and Open Championship.
“Very excited to come back and play my third Open, it’s going to be really, really good,” McKibbin said. “And to have that car down Magnolia Lane for the first time ever, it’s going to be even more special. You know, I think a historic tour like this deserves those places, and yeah, it’s nice to take advantage of them.”
McKibbin carded a final-round 63 (he opened the tournament with a 60 on Thursday) to finish 27 under overall. American Peter Uihlein finished second alone.
Last year, McKibbin won his PGA Tour card by finishing in the Dubai Race on the DP World Tour, but he chose to join LIV – despite the advice of his mentor, Rory McIlroy.
McKibbin grew up on the same golf course in Holywood as McIlroy, and McIlroy has known him since he was 10 or 11 years old. When McKibbin received an offer to play at LIV Golf, he called McIlroy to chat.
“We had a really good conversation,” McIlroy said earlier this year. “And I talked to him a couple of times in December (2024) to kind of get a sense of, you know, what he was thinking, and obviously what — you know, yeah, basically what he was going to do. And all I could do was give my perspective. … I said, ‘If I were you, I’d make a different choice than what you’re doing.’ I think, you know, working so hard to get your tour card in the United States, something he did, to reach that goal last year was a great achievement.”
McKibbin instead joined Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team. But now he will see McIlroy, the defending Masters champion, at Augusta National next year.
“When I decided whether to join LIV, it was a big factor,” McKibbin said of winning big starts, “but I just seemed to back myself, play the best golf I can and see where that takes me. I played two (majors) last year and two next year. If you can play good golf that takes care of it and you can definitely still get in these big tournaments.”
