It certainly surprised many in the golfing world when reports emerged suggesting that Tom McKibbin was set to join LIV Golf ahead of the 2025 season.
Tom McKibbin established himself as one of the best young players in the game in recent years.
The Northern Irishman was initially widely known for coming through at the same club as Rory McIlroy. But he managed to make a name for himself, winning the European Open on the DP World Tour in 2023.
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McKibbin went on to earn a PGA Tour card through his performances on the European circuit in 2024. The 22-year-old was the last man in as he secured his spot at the DP World Tour Championship.
But shortly after, it was reported that McKibbin was considering joining LIV Golf.
The golfer who admitted being annoyed when Tom McKibbin decided to join LIV Golf
Despite McIlroy encouraging McKibbin to snub LIV, the youngster did indeed decide to sign with the breakaway league. He joined Jon Rahm‘s Legion XIII team.
The news seemed to be particularly agonising for Jordan Smith. Smith had been the player who missed out on a PGA Tour card to McKibbin. And because McKibbin’s move was only confirmed after the start of the 2025 season, the Englishman had no choice but to continue on the DP World Tour for another year.
Smith has now secured his spot in the States for 2026. And speaking on the Sliced podcast, he admitted that McKibbin’s decision did sting for a little while.
“Yeah, it was a little bit [frustrating], because it happened the year before, I think with Meronk and one of the Hojgaard twins. So it was annoying because we were so, so close to getting one of those cards. It came down to literally one shot on 18 on the Sunday in Dubai,” he said.
“Once I heard that news, I was a bit frustrated. It would have been nice if it had been a little bit earlier, obviously he was giving up his playing rights and I could have taken it. But at the same time, we’re all looking out for ourselves, so I can 100 per cent see why he took the offer and did it. A little bit annoying, he could have done it a bit earlier, but I’ve got no anger or hate towards him. It is what it is.
“It was a bit frosty [at the Team Cup], but we had a chat and everything was fine. We were on the same team so we just had to put everything aside and concentrate on the team stuff.
“We chat now and then. And he actually came up to me in Dubai a couple of weeks ago and congratulated me on getting a card. So that was really nice of him. He didn’t have to do that.”
Jordan Smith explains how close he has come to signing with LIV Golf in his career
It is hard to imagine that there is a single player on either the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour who has not been approached at some stage about making the same move as McKibbin.
LIV have signed superstars, journeymen, and younger players with extremely high ceilings.
And Smith shared how close he has come to signing with LIV, noting that his dream of playing on the PGA Tour prevented him from taking the opportunity.
“When it first happened, they had the first event at Centurion, I could have played it with my world ranking at the time,” he said.
“But I spoke to a few people. Basically, my goal was to get a PGA Tour card and as soon as you tee it up you just get blacklisted. So it was a straight no after that, because obviously it was one event and you don’t know what was going to happen. I’m glad that I didn’t go and play.”
It has been a tough year for those who did get promoted to the PGA Tour for the 2025 season, with only a couple of players holding onto their cards.
Smith will be hoping that the extra year in Europe proves to be a blessing in disguise as he now prepares to take that next step.
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