Tom McKibbin became LIV Golf’s most eye-catching off-season signing back in January after the Northern Irishman penned a deal with Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII.
Back in November, McKibbin earned a PGA Tour card at the DP World Tour’s finale in Dubai. However, the Northern Irishman passed up the chance to head stateside and compete alongside the likes of Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler.
McKibbin’s decision to sign for LIV certainly raised a few eyebrows, none more so than McIlroy, who had previously expressed a strong view on the LIV speculation surrounding McKibbin.
“I think that for whatever the benefit may be, I don’t think it’s worth the sacrifice to what he’s potentially going to give up,” McIlroy said before he made his first start of the 2025 PGA Tour season [AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am].
“I think he’s got a ton of potential. I said to him, if I were in your shoes, I would make a different choice than the one you’re thinking of making.”
Tom McKibbin responds to Rory McIlroy’s comments
Ahead of this week’s LIV Golf Hong Kong event, McKibbin was asked about McIlroy’s remarks.
“I’m not going to say what he said to me or what we talked about,” said McKibbin.
“Obviously, I respect Rory a lot, and I’ve been able to be very close to him the last four, five, six years and spend a lot of time with him. Obviously, I spoke to him, obviously, when the opportunity came around, and we had a couple of conversations.
“But ultimately, as I just said before, I just had a really good gut feeling about this, and it was something that excited me a lot. It was something different for me. I sort of thought it was a good decision for me and something that I had to do with my feelings, and only I could sort of make my own decisions.
“It’s something that I’m very happy I made. I’ve really enjoyed the last couple of weeks, and I think it’s going to be a great thing for me.”
Tom McKibbin’s 2025 LIV Golf performance
McKibbin is currently 13th in the LIV Golf standings and has enjoyed a solid start to the 2025 season. The Northern Irishman finished tied for 15th in Riyadh and was left to rue a disappointing level-par final round.
In Adelaide, McKibbin placed T7 and shot three sub-par rounds at The Grange. Stats-wise, the Northern Irishman is also off to a positive start. McKibbin currently ranks 11th in scrambling and eighth for putting average.
What’s more, McKibbin is also averaging 311 yards off the tee, which is the second-longest on the LIV tour and ten yards more than what Bryson DeChambeau is clocking at present.
McKibbin will undoubtedly face criticism after joining LIV, but it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t positioned himself well to compete regularly against top-quality players.
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