Tom McKibbin explains how Rory McIlroy made him even more nervous for The Open before the tournament even started

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Tom McKibbin played alongside Padraig Harrington and Nicolai Hojgaard in the first group out at The Open Championship.

The Northern Irishman, who is a member at Royal Portrush, finished the day at a respectable one over par.

However, even though he probably knows the golf course better than anyone in the field, he was so nervous before the first tee shot.

McKibbin explained why Rory McIlroy was actually to blame for his concerns before the first round at The Open.

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Tom McKibbin worried about making the same mistake as Rory McIlroy at The Open

Fellow home favorite McIlroy underperformed in the last Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2019.

It all started with a shocking drive out of bounds on the first tee, which led to an unfortunate quadruple bogey.

McKibbin revealed that he couldn’t stop thinking about McIlroy’s nightmare before his round started at 6:35 am.

“Not too bad. I think Rory’s made that tee shot a lot scarier,” McKibbin told reporters. “That’s all I could probably think about for the last three days.

“I wouldn’t say I was too nervous. I just didn’t really want to hit that bad of a shot. Yeah, I was very happy to get it sort of underway.

“Yeah, a little bit nervous and a little bit scared of hitting that shot.”

Tom McKibbin barely spoke to Padraig Harrington during first round at The Open

Two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington (2007 and 2008) hit the opening tee shot at Royal Portrush.

The Irishman striped the ball down the middle of the fairway and made a birdie on the first hole in a perfect start.

Unfortunately, he then struggled throughout much of the round and finished on four over par. He will need to play well on Friday to make the cut.

McKibbin also revealed how much he spoke to Harrington during the first round in his interview afterwards. “No, not really. We’re both trying to go out there and play the best we can,” he said.

“We’re not really out there to try to sort of interact too much. It’s obviously a very different day. It’s a major. You’re trying to focus as much as you can.

“Sometimes the balls are a little bit all over the place, and we’re onto them. So not too much today.”