McKibbon & His Coolest LIV Golf Moment: “Australia, Just The Whole Week”.

8 months ago by Comments Off on McKibbon & His Coolest LIV Golf Moment: “Australia, Just The Whole Week”.

It came as a real surprise news at the start of year of Irishman Tom McKibbin’s potential signing with LIV Golf.

Yes, there was rumours in the days ahead of the Northern Irishman competing in the DP World Tour’s Team Cup in Abu Dhabi that the 22-year-old had signed with LIV as a member of Jon Rahm’s Legend X111 team.

However it was not till three weeks later, and after missing the halfway cut at the Ras Al Khaima and with McKibbin back home in Northern Ireland, that it was all official McKibbin was LIV Golf bound.

Despite the clear disappointment of fellow Ulsterman Rory McIlroy, McKibbin took to LIV like a duck takes to water as it could not have been a more impressive LIV Golf debut for McKibbin, with his Legends X111 team storming to an 11-points win in the opening 2025 season event in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

McKibbin had opened with an equally impressive 65 on route to 15th place in the ‘individual’ format.

The following week it was ‘Down Under’ and teeing-up in LIV Adelaide and McKibbon again shining brightly, finishing T7th behind Legend X111 captain Jon Rahm (sixth) and with the team second behind the all-Spanish Fireballs team.

McKibbin enters this week’s LIV Golf Hong Kong ranked 13th in the season-long individual points race; only Rahm is placed higher (2nd) among Legion XIII players. Tyrrell Hatton is 17th, and Caleb Surratt is 20th, as Legion is the only team with all four players inside the top 20.

And as McKibbin sat back in the comport of the Hong Kong media centre he was asked if ‘there has been a moment since signing with LIV Golf when he may have stepped back, thinking this is all pretty cool.

“I think in Australia for me, just the whole week”, he said.

“I had obviously heard so much about it going into it, and then getting there and getting started and playing and getting to the party hole or the Watering Hole for the first time and not being able to hear myself think, after that I just couldn’t believe how different and how cool that experience was walking up that hole and playing that every day.

“That was probably for me the first real, wow, this is really cool and something that I had never experienced and just was excited to go back to that hole every day and try and hit a better shot.

“Yeah, that was awesome”.

Indeed LIV Golf Adelaide attracted an official attendance figure over the three days of 104, 483.

McKibbin had last been in Australia at the end of the 2023 DP World Tour season for the back-to-back hosting of the Australian PGA Championship and also the following week’s Australian Open.

Though this week is a first visit to Hong Kong and McKibbin likes what he sees.

“I really like the course. It’s not the longest, so it’s very important to be in the fairway”, he said.

“If you can manage to hit the fairways and hit sort of the right side of the fairways because there’s a few holes you can still be on the fairway and be slightly blocked out, then it’s nice. The greens are small. If you get it up there around the green or on the green, you seem to have a nice birdie chance.

“So, it’s a really cool course. Something probably a little different than we’re used to with it not being too long or too many drivers off the tees.

“I’ve only played the front nine so far, and I’ll play the back nine later, but it’s been super fun so far, and I’ve enjoyed it”.

Well said, Tom and play well this week (Bernie)

 



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