HOLYWOOD golfer Tom McKibbin completed a commanding display at the Hong Kong Open to seal victory and book his place at next year’s Masters and the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.
The 22 year-old led from start to finish in a performance that underlined his growing reputation as one of golf’s brightest talents.
McKibbin began the week in blistering fashion with a course record of 60 and never looked back, holding his nerve through each round at Fanling Golf Club.
He entered the final day one shot ahead of American MJ Maguire but quickly pulled clear with birdies on two of his opening three holes.
The Holywood man’s control never wavered as he added more birdies on the eighth, tenth, twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth, finishing his round with a 63 to reach 27 under par. This dominant display left his opponents trailing and marked his second professional win, following his European Open triumph in Germany last year.
“It was obviously amazing, I played some of the best golf I’ve probably ever played,” McKibbin said after his round.
“It was a little strange building that big lead coming in. It was a little bit of a weird feeling. I just tried to take advantage of those holes that were birdie chances, par-5s and wedge opportunities. It was nice to take advantage of those and stretch out the lead coming in.”
McKibbin, who grew up playing at the same club as Rory McIlroy, has long been tipped for success, and his thrilling performance in Hong Kong showed this in spades.
The wire-to-wire victory secured not only a spot at Augusta but also a return to The Open for a third time, giving him a chance to tee up alongside the sport’s elite on two of golf’s grandest stages.
“[I’m] very excited to go back and play my third Open, it’ll be very cool, and to have that drive down Magnolia Lane for the first time ever will be even more special,” McKibbin said.
McKibbin’s win at Fanling netted him $360,000 and he now ranks inside the world’s top 90 golfers. Following this win he will now join Rory McIlroy and Ireland’s Shane Lowry in next week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which is the first of the DP World Tour Playoffs.
