LIV Golf’s Tom McKibbin was unsurprisingly not selected by Team Europe for the Ryder Cup, and although leaving the PGA Tour may not have impacted his prospects, Rory McIlroy’s advice remains relevant
Rory McIlroy’s Ryder Cup message for Tom McKibbin now rings relevant(Image: Getty)
Rory McIlroy cautioned fellow Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin that switching to LIV Golf might jeopardise his Ryder Cup aspirations. Now the 22-year-old has indeed missed out on selection for 2025.
The Belfast native honed his skills at the same Holywood Golf Club where the legendary McIlroy learned his craft and turned professional at age 18, creating a stir last year after earning his PGA Tour card through the European Tour.
However, disregarding his compatriot’s counsel, McKibbin signed with the breakaway LIV circuit at the start of this year for a rumoured £4million. He has subsequently banked £7.5m in prize money and triumphed at the Team Championship with Legion XIII last month.
In McIlroy’s appeal to McKibbin, the 36-year-old suggested his younger fellow countryman risked forfeiting a Ryder Cup place following his LIV move, reports Belfast Live.
Whilst McKibbin’s selection for Team Europe’s lineup ahead of Bethpage Black this summer wasn’t assured, competing more frequently on the PGA Tour alongside elite professionals might have boosted his outside chances, making McIlroy’s caution somewhat prophetic.
“I made it perfectly clear: I am not going to stand your way if you need to make the decision you feel like you need to make for yourself,” McIlroy declared about McKibbin in January. “At the same time, I feel like he’s giving up a lot to not really benefit that much.
McKibbin (R) enjoyed a solid first season with Legion XIII(Image: AP)
“I think he’s got a ton of potential,” he added. “I said to him, if I were in your shoes, I would make a different choice. Working so hard to get your tour card in the States, something that he did, to achieve that goal last year was a big achievement.
“I think what he potentially is sacrificing and giving up with access to majors, a potential Ryder Cup spot, if I were in his position and I had his potential, which I think I have been before, I wouldn’t make that decision.
“There is still a ton of money to be made on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. There is so much money in the game, and some would argue too much money in the game for the eyeballs that we attract. I think that for whatever the benefit may be, I don’t think it’s worth the sacrifice to what he’s potentially going to give up.”
Golfers such as Ludvig Aberg and Rasmus Hojgaard demonstrate precisely what McKibbin could have accomplished. The 25-year-old Swede allegedly rejected a LIV proposal in 2022 to remain a promising amateur. During his two seasons on Tour, he has climbed to World No. 14 and is now an integral member of Luke Donald’s team.
Hojgaard was a rising European Tour talent like McKibbin, and following his acquisition of a dual membership tour card through that route, the 24-year-old is now poised to make his Ryder Cup bow. Conversely, two of McKibbin’s LIV team-mates, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, did secure their places.
Whilst the promising McKibbin won’t feature at this year’s Ryder Cup, World No. 2 and Masters winner McIlroy will spearhead Europe’s challenge. He stays positive ahead to Bethpage Black, and understands the hostile American galleries won’t make life simple for himself and his colleagues.
“I’ve said this repeatedly, but I think winning an away Ryder Cup is up there with one of the biggest achievements in the game, especially nowadays,” McIlroy confessed this week.
“There’s a reason every Ryder Cup for the last 10 years has gone to the home team. They have a big advantage from the setup of the course to how partisan the crowd is.
“But I think the Europeans have a wonderful opportunity this year to achieve something very, very special – but it’s going to be very difficult. Make no mistake, we know we’re up against it.”
