Tom McKibbin’s first ever professional title defence didn’t get off to the start he’d have hoped with a bogey on the opening hole, but he responded in excellent fashion to post a four-under 69 and lie T4 after day one of the Porsche European Open at Green Eagle Golf Club in Hamburg, Germany.
The 21-year-old can be forgiven for his nervy bogey-five at the opening hole under the spotlight, but that would be his only dropped shot of the day as he responded with birdies at four of Green Eagle’s five par-5s, and another on the par-3 17th to make steady progress up the leaderboard.
Playing in the more difficult afternoon wave on what is one of the toughest tests that DP World Tour players face all season, anything under par would’ve been a satisfactory return for the Holywood man, but his -4 round has him a shot off second place, with home favourite Jannik De Bruyn posting an early -9 to enjoy a four-stroke lead after day one.
McKibbin has become one of the most consistent players on the circuit, and he took care of both of the traditional scoring holes on his outward nine to make the turn at -1. Another birdie followed on the par-5 11th, and he reached the 17th tee at -2 for the day which had him inside the top 20 on a day where the start was delayed due to fog and the later starters faced a firmer course in the late afternoon.
A pinpoint tee shot on the par-3 17th came to rest just over five feet from the flag and he rolled in the putt to move to -3, and then, perhaps with the memory of his sublime approach to the par-5 closing hole in last year’s tournament running through his mind, he piped his second shot directly over the pin and got up-and-down for another neat closing birdie to post -4.
He’ll have the benefit of a more receptive course – albeit one playing slightly longer – in Friday’s second round, and with the consistency he’s shown in 2024 and a relatively inexperienced player leading the pack, he’ll be confident of putting himself in a strong position going into the weekend.
De Bruyn birdied six of his first seven holes to race into a commanding lead on the formidable Porsche Nord Course.
Another birdie at the 11th hole saw him move further clear on home soil, before back-to-back bogeys followed at the 12th and 13th. The 24-year-old bounced back brilliantly to finish with four consecutive birdies to get to nine under par and move four clear of England’s Laurie Canter and Welshman Jack Davidson, who signed for five under par rounds of 68 in the second event of the European Swing.
De Bruyn, who earned his DP World Tour card through Qualifying School last year, is now targeting a maiden victory on home soil around one of the longest courses played on the DP World Tour, this year measuring 7,882 yards.
“I can’t explain what happened out there but I was just in the moment and the birdies kept coming,” De Bruyn said. “I was hitting the ball well in the right areas and my putting was great.
“I was six under through seven and didn’t really believe it. I hadn’t been playing great coming into the week, so I had no expectation. I was just looking to take it shot by shot and focus on hitting draws. It worked out well for me today.
“There were plenty of spectators out there for me today and I always enjoy playing in front of my home crowd. The more birdies I was making, the bigger the crowd got which was quite funny. I’m proud to play such a good round here.”
American Sean Crocker, Finland’s Lauri Ruuska, Dane Niklas Norgaard, South African Ockie Strydom and English duo Garrick Porteous and Dan Bradbury share fourth position with the defending champion on four-under.
Ten players are a shot further back in 11th, including South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli, American Johannes Veerman and Denmark’s Marcus Helligkilde, who have two holes remaining as round one was suspended due to darkness.
The first round will resume at 7:30am local time on day two, with all second round tee times to remain as originally published.
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