The Open Championship is heading towards a conclusion for day two but one man who won’t be seeing the weekend in is Tom McKibbin.
The home favourite ended up at three over par and with the cut line looking to be plus two at worst as the late starters make their way around, McKibbin will be packing his bags.
The LIV Golf player missed a number of putts to get within the line but made just one birdie in the last five holes as things slipped away.
Like so many, exiting before the cut is the worst nightmare for a pro golfer.
And speaking to the media afterwards, McKibbin pulled no punches in expressing his feelings.
Tom McKibbin furious after missing the cut at The Open
This was Tom McKibbin’s third major in total and he will in many more in the future but given it was a home event, he’ll be gutted to be leaving early.
LIV’s newest upstart just couldn’t find his best and in the end, it left him deflated and above all, angry.
“Not great. A little bit annoyed. Yeah, a little bit p—– off,” McKibbin replied after being asked how he was feeling.
“Yeah, it was good. The crowd supporting me the whole way round was amazing. The whole week was good, sort of positive. I thought I played all right, just a few sort of stupid mistakes that looking back, I wouldn’t really hit different. The shot was fine, just sort of missed in the wrong spot or got the club slightly wrong.”
“Overall, I actually thought I played quite nicely, just a few silly mistakes.”
Knowing he will miss the cut by just one or two strokes only further annoyed McKibbin, so suggested that was one of the big problems he had with his overall score.
“Yeah, I think that’s what’s probably most annoying. I feel like I actually played — this is probably the best I’ve played out of them all. Just so many like stupid errors, just pins at the back of the green, hitting over the green. It’s just where there’s nothing really wrong with the shot. So I think that’s what’s a little bit frustrating.”
McKibbin has time on his side but LIV Golf move may hinder major chances
With the OWGR still not recognising LIV in terms of points, it could be a long road for a player like Tom McKibbin to ensure he keeps making the majors.
As he tumbles down the rankings, it will get more and more difficult for him and he will no doubt feel this one in Northern Ireland is an opportunity missed.
Of course, what the future might bring is anyone’s guess and at a guess, we’ll likely see McKibbin competing for years to come.
2025 was not to be and while he wasn’t far off, he’ll be disappointed not to be in for the weekend on home soil.
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