Tom McKibbin’s first time to play the Doonbeg links came with a Tuesday practice day tee-time.
While the likes of Thomas Detry and Tyrrell Hatton made advance visits to Co Clare in what amounted to a mix of social and reconnaissance trips, McKibbin’s first action on the course was to drive a 3-wood down the middle of the fairway.
His company for nine holes – five holes going out and then slipping across to play the last four home – were two-time Major champion Jon Rahm and Thomas Higgins, the 23-year-old from Roscommon who turned professional after missing out on Walker Cup selection, playing here on an invite.
McKibbin is also 23, but has accumulated a lifetime of experience in his short career, with wins on the DP World Tour (the European Open) and the Asian Tour (Hong Kong Open) as well as team success on LIV with Legion XIII.
Whatever about the disruptive noises about the fate of LIV, and the uncertainty hanging on how any iteration of LIV 2.0 will look, the Northern Ireland professional has sought to focus on his own game, aware that this week’s Irish Open in the Co Clare sand hills will provide a stiff examination.
“From what I’ve seen, it’s very difficult. There’s a lot of bunkers and greens that have a lot of … I don’t want to say big run-offs, but there’s some narrow targets and, with the wind and some of the elevated tee boxes, it definitely makes it interesting,” McKibbin said about what faces the 138 players in the field.
“It’s very hard when you don’t play much of it in a year to come back and sort of flip and hit different shots that you’re not used to, and especially this time of the year when it’s so cold that the ball moves a lot in the wind. But I definitely think if I can keep the ball in front of me and hit the ball the way I normally would, I could definitely have a good chance.”
“A win would be massive I think. I started to play very nicely around this time of the year last year, had a couple of close calls and then the win came [in Hong Kong]. I mean a win at any time of the year is nice, but especially so on this latter stretch of the season.”
Certainly McKibbin has found an admirer in his LIV team-mate Rahm, who said: “He’s got all the tools to win a major, and I hope he does some day. Technically, very few people are better than him swinging the golf club. He’ll keep gaining the right experience and definitely give himself a chance some day, but he has what he needs to win one.
“He’s got great technique and a great golf game. It’s a joy to watch him play golf. Every time we’re on the range warming up together I always go up to his caddie, Ricky [McCormick], and I tell him, ‘Does he ever get bored of watching the same shot over and over and over, because he really doesn’t miss’. I mean, it’s a one-way draw every single time. Beautiful swing and beautiful ball flight.”
McKibbin’s response to hearing what the Spaniard said of him brought a smile to his face and led to some reflection.
“It’s obviously a massive compliment to hear that from him. I think, as golfers, we always tend to put ourselves down a little bit. We’re always searching for better. Hearing stuff like that definitely puts your mind at ease a bit. And obviously coming from someone of a high calibre as him, and a player that he is, it’s pretty cool to hear,” he said.
McKibbin’s win in Hong Kong late last year brought with it the fringe benefits of playing in the Masters and The Open, but he missed the cut in both as well as the US PGA.
But those missed cuts were something of outliers, and his recent form – most recently sixth in the British Masters following a strong finish to the LIV season – has brought perspective.
“I think throughout the whole year I’ve been very steady,” McKibbin said. “I’ve started to putt quite nice and that’s allowed me to put in a couple of good results, which definitely excites me for the rest of the year.”