Tom McKibbin reacts to qualifying for The Masters and The Open next year after winning the Hong Kong Open

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Tom McKibbin achieved his third professional victory at the Hong Kong Open on Sunday.

The Northern Irishman won the International Series tournament by seven shots over fellow LIV golfer Peter Uihlein.

McKibbin has now qualified for next year’s Masters at Augusta National and the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

The 22-year-old reacted to qualifying for those two major championships in his interview immediately after winning in Hong Kong. 

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Tom McKibbin qualifies for The Masters with Hong Kong Open victory

McKibbin has played in three of the four majors, including the last two Open Championships, but never The Masters.

So, he was particularly pleased to receive an exemption to compete for the Green Jacket at Augusta National next April.

“Very excited. To go back and play my third Open will be very cool, and to have that drive down Magnolia Lane for the first time ever will be even more special,” McKibbin said.

“I think historic tournaments like this deserve those spots and, yeah, it’s great to take advantage of those.”

McKibbin also recalled watching Rory McIlroy’s two most famous Masters moments: his meltdown in 2011 and his victory this year.

McKibbin will now look to become the second Northern Irishman ever to win the Green Jacket, perhaps in consecutive years.

“I’ve watched them all for the last 15 years. Had the lows of the first one that Rory did to us, and then last year,” he explained.

“Sitting there, late nights on Sunday, and having to go to school on Monday. Watching the years of coverage and the history, I’m very excited to get there.”

Tom McKibbin defends decision to join LIV Golf

McKibbin’s decision to join the LIV Golf league rather than the PGA Tour came under scrutiny from golf fans and pundits last year.

The biggest critique was that he had effectively given up on playing in major championships because LIV events do not award world ranking points.

Well, McKibbin now has the best of both worlds. He has earned an incredible amount of money from LIV Golf and still qualified for the biggest majors.

“When I was deciding whether to join LIV, it was a big factor, but I seemed to back myself, played the best golf I could, and see where that leads me,” he told Bunkered.

“I played two last year and two next year. If you can play good golf, that takes care of it, and you can definitely still get in these big tournaments.”