Royal Portrush member Tom McKibbin hopeful of ‘special week’ back home

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – They’ve been teammates now for 10 LIV Golf tournaments, and one thing Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm has noticed about 22-year-old Tom McKibbin is the stark difference in their demeanors, particularly inside the ropes. McKibbin is cool, imperturbable. Rahm is, well, Spanish.

“He’s quiet by nature, but even in competition when things go wrong, he stays quite calm,” Rahm said. “It’s just quite remarkable and an incredible gift to have for a young player.

“I don’t think I can relate to that whatsoever, so I’m a little bit jealous.”

Perhaps that unflappable approach explains why McKibbin embraces the challenge of tough golf courses – and why he could make some major noise this week at The Open as one of three Northern Irishmen competing in their home country. He’s also one of three Legion XIII members in the field along with Rahm and Englishmen Tyrrell Hatton.

McKibbin arrives at Royal Portrush – where he is a member – fresh off his two best results since joining LIV Golf. Both were at two of the league’s most difficult courses, Maridoe in Dallas and Valderrama in Andalucía. And in both tournaments, he saved his best for last.

In the final round in Dallas, his final-round 3-under 69 was topped by just six other players as he finished in a tie for fifth at 5 under. At Valderrama, he shot 69-66 on the weekend to move from 29th after the first round into a tie for fourth at 4 under. At one point, McKibbin was a bogey-free 7 under in the final round before suffering two late bogeys.

While it wasn’t enough to get him onto his first individual podium, McKibbin’s contribution to the team score was huge as Legion XIII won for the third time this season and moved into first place in the team standings.

“Lot of fun,” McKibbin said after his round. “Moments like that today is why I wanted to be here, especially around an iconic venue like here. To get to 7 under par and finish 5 under par is very important. I know how hard the course is. To be able to shoot those scores, knowing I can go that low on courses that are this difficult, it’s a lot of fun.”

Earlier in the year, during a stretch when he struggled for results, McKibbin still produced a top-15 finish in Miami at Doral when only six players shot under par. Add that to his quick start this season – a tie for 15th in his LIV Golf debut in Riyadh followed by top-10 finishes in Adelaide and Hong Kong – has McKibbin ranking 14th in the season-long points race. He’s the youngest player currently in the top 24 Lock Zone.

“I started off the year so well on such a positive note,” McKibbin said while reviewing his first season. “From Mexico and Korea, I didn’t play great, and it was a little bit annoying because it didn’t feel like it was that far away. Then a lot of hard work on the weeks off, then went to Virginia and played nicely but just didn’t sort of score.

“Maridoe and here, going into these weeks knowing they’re very difficult golf courses, I seem to quite like difficult ones. I sort of knew that if I played the golf I knew I had been playing, I could finish quite well. That’s nice, that sort of mindset, that the practice sort of transpires into the golf.”

Rahm isn’t surprised that McKibbin has been such a vital contributor to Legion’s success this season. In fact, no one should be surprised. After all, McKibbin won a DP World Tour event at age 20 at the Porsche European Open in Germany and last year finished 18th in the Race to Dubai, which is how he qualified for this week’s Open.

The combination of a graceful swing and grace under pressure is generally a recipe for success in golf. Rahm compares McKibbin’s swing to another Northern Irishmen, Rory McIlroy.

“I think he's obviously internally processing the same emotions that all of us are processing, but outwardly he stays really, really calm, and that helps him quite a bit, on top of having a fantastic golf swing,” Rahm said. “I don't know what it is about Northern Ireland, but they have two of the most beautiful golf swings ever produced in golf. He's a fantastic golfer in general.

“He's got all the tools he needs to succeed in this game, and so far in his early career, he's done so.”

McKibbin might be a bit young to generate significant backing in his chances at this week’s Open, but his current form needs to be considered, along with his course knowledge as a Royal Portrush member; he was particularly fond of playing here in the winter.

Prior to Valderrama, McKibbin played a couple of practice rounds at Royal Portrush with fellow countryman Darren Clarke, who not only knows the course even better than McKibbin but knows how to win The Open, having done so in 2011. No doubt McKibbin spent some time picking Clarke’s brain.

McKibbin was 16 years old and playing the U.S. Junior Amateur when Royal Portrush previously hosted The Open in 2019. It was a historic week for his club and country, the first Open in 68 years to be played in Northern Ireland. An Irishman (Shane Lowry) won that week, and the entire island celebrated.

Watching the tournament on TV from across the pond, McKibbin was hopeful that he’d get a chance to compete for the Claret Jug on home soil. Now he’s here.

“When they announced the next one, it was always a big goal of mine to be there and play,” McKibbin said. “I think it would’ve hurt a little bit to watch it on TV or not playing. To go back to a place I’m a member of, and to play a major championship there is going to be pretty special. Hopefully I can bring on the golf that I’ve played in the last two events.”