LIV Golf may land as one of the young stars of the DP World Tour.
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If Tom McKibbin becomes the newest member of LIV Golf, the 22-year-old Irishman won’t say.
I’m talking on Wednesday to Golf Digest Middle East during the DP World Tour Team Cup, McKibbin neither confirmed nor denied rumors of becoming the newest member Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII bandreplacing the demoted Kieran Vincent.
“I’m not going to comment on anything this week out of respect for Justin [Rose] and Łukasz [Donald] and this tournament,” McKibbin said. “It’s a team event, so I’m trying to give my all to the team and see how many points I can get.”
McKibbin joins LIV which begins its fourth season next month would be a surprise after the 22-year-old secured his PGA Tour card by just 10.5 points in the Race to Dubai with a closing birdie at the DP World Tour Championship.
“Yes, it would be great to play on the PGA Tour, a tour I have been watching for a long time. It will be great to play there and play some golf,” McKibbin said in Dubai at the time.
McKibbin, currently ranked 110th in the world, would lose the PGA Tour card he just earned if he jumped to LIV.
Such a move, if it occurred, would sting Rory McIlroy, who McKibbin says he considers his mentor. McKibbin comes from the same golf club (Hollywood Golf Club) as McIlory. The No. 3 player in the world sought out McKibbin and congratulated him on earning his PGA Tour card after the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, which McIlroy won.
“I was looking at the leaderboard and I saw Tom was in the top ten, I thought, OK, good, and when I came down from last place I didn’t see his name, and I saw him before I signed the contract. card and he congratulated me, and I didn’t want to ask – I said: “Yes or no?” And he said, ‘Yes,'” McIlroy said.
“I’m happy for him. For him, the most important goal was to get one of the ten cards and go to America. Very happy for him…. I think there are a lot of good young players in Europe and that obviously bodes well for the future of European golf in the Ryder Cups.
McKibbin’s jump to LIV is still just a rumor, but the 22-year-old’s reluctance to quell it suggests there’s fire in that smoke.
While Rahm, Tyrell Hatton and Caleb Surratt are still searching for (or at least waiting to announce) the final member of their team, other LIV golf franchises have recently announced the addition of new members as the season approaches. Branden Grace re-joined Stinger, Frederik Kjettrup signed with Cleeks, and Ben Campbell joined the RangeGoats. Bubba Watson will also return as the captain of the RangeGoats.
