Tom McKibbin has expressed his delight with his opening round at the Irish Open after getting the opportunity to play alongside European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald at Doonbeg.
McKibbin has been in good form of late, with sixth place finishes at both LIV Golf New York and the British Masters. He also finished tied for 12th in Indianapolis in what was LIV 1.0’s final event.
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But the pressure was on this week. The 23-year-old has the opportunity to shine in front of both the Irish fans and the 2027 Ryder Cup captain.
Tom McKibbin pleased as he makes a bright start to the Irish Open
It certainly seemed to be a deliberate move from Luke Donald to end up in a group with McKibbin and Alex Fitzpatrick, two of the brightest talents on their respective tours right now.
And it was McKibbin who had the slight edge over Fitzpatrick following the opening day’s play on the Atlantic coast.
Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images
McKibbin shot a two-under par 68 to leave himself inside the top-10 at the close of play. He got off to a flying start with three birdies in his first four holes.
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And he explained how special it was to give the fans something to cheer early on.
“Yeah, it’s massive, for sure, to have that sort of home support and everyone sort of cheering you on every hole. Yeah, it definitely gives you that momentum, especially after the quick start I got,” he said.
Tom McKibbin reacts to playing alongside Luke Donald
It is surprising that McKibbin is still only 23 having been around for some time already. He has completed two seasons on LIV having earned a PGA Tour card before that.
He is making his fifth appearance in the Irish Open this week. And he spoke about how his game has changed over that time.
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“Yeah, I’m definitely a different player. I’m definitely a better player now,” he said.
“Especially in these conditions, I think if I was to come here five years ago I would have struggled a lot and probably not sort of embraced the challenge that it was today. Yeah, definitely very proud of the way I’ve sort of maybe improved over the last number of years.”
He went on to comment on having the opportunity to play alongside Donald on Thursday.
“Yeah, it was great. I got to play with him a couple years ago, and to do it again here today and in Ireland was pretty special. Yeah, sort of to get to play with him and sort of hopefully show him sort of the way I can play was nice,” he said.
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It was always going to be an extremely tough task for a rookie to earn a place on the 2025 Ryder Cup team, with Europe expecting an enormous challenge at Bethpage. In the end, Donald’s hand was forced by Rasmus Hojgaard qualifying automatically.
There is scope for some fresh faces to come into the European team ahead of Adare Manor next year.
Nothing will be decided this weekend, but McKibbin will know just how impactful a great performance could be to his chances.
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