Tom McKibbin admits having two Open Championship venues in Ireland would be special after his first experience of a home Open in Royal Portrush last week and with rumours of Portmarnock being added to the rota abound.
The Open will likely return to Portrush but whether it will be within six years is uncertain, meaning Portmarnock could be the next Irish venue with the R&A and the government working on a feasibility study into the suitability of the north Dublin links.
Scottie Scheffler coasted to his first Claret Jug on Sunday but memories of the massive crowds that followed Rory McIlroy – especially on the final day – will be hard to forget. Something McKibbin would love to experience.
“I obviously seen the crowds the first couple of days, the Friday I think he was finishing up when we were on the 12th or 13th, so you could obviously see the crowds from very far away and they were incredible,” said McKibbin ahead of LIV Golf UK at JCB Golf and Country Club.
“Last week was something I hadn’t seen before and it was really good the the support that they showed everyone. I think Portmarnock’s a great links course, probably one of the best in the country, it’s a very special place, special golf club with a lot of history and it’s a pure form of form of golf.
“That’s all the rumours are that the Open will be there, it would be pretty cool. To have two Open venues on the island would be pretty cool.”
The Ryder Cup is just two months away as Luke Donald’s European charges bid to win on US soul for the first time since they pulled off a miracle in Medinah in 2012.
McKibbin was joined on the press conference stage by his Legion XIII teammates Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton both of whom are expected to be part of the 12-strong travelling party to New York.
The 22-year-old has been in good form on LIV recently but his chances of making a Ryder Cup debut in September appear slim, unless he goes on a barnstorming run in the final three LIV events of the season and the DP World Tour qualifying events that remain.
On Tuesday it was announced that the Ryder Cup will be played at Denis O’Brien’s Camiral resort in 2031 and McKibbin sees himself on at least one European team between now and then with the 2027 edition in Adare Manor high on his list.
“I’d love to be a part of Ryder Cups and things like that, but again it just depends on how everything is and how my golf game is by then or before then.
“Obviously you’ve got the one in Adare Manor in 2027. I’d love to try and get to be a part of that and just keep trying to play the best I can to work towards those.”
McKibbin is a precocious talent, the Holywood man earned his breakthrough win on the DP World Tour at the 2023 Porsche European Open and has enjoyed a successful maiden campaign on the LIV tour, winning three team titles with Legion XIII.
Although he hasn’t scooped another individual title on either LIV or the DP World Tour since his win in Germany, he had some great pre-Open form with back to back top five finishes and he has been pleased with his performances thus far.
“I think I started the year off quite nicely and, and then sort of, fell, fell a little bit in the, in the middle of the season, which was a little bit disappointing. And then the last couple of events have, have been really nice.
“I’ve seemed to play, some, some lovely golf on quite difficult golf courses, which is, which gives me a lot of confidence sort of going forward and just sort of knowing that I can sort of post those finishes, is, is really nice.
“I think the standard is very good, The thing over here that’s hardest is we have one less day, you really have to get off to a good first round if you don’t quite have it the first day, it’s quite a lot of ground to make up for the last two, and then obviously the fields are strong here.
“There’s some incredible players, major champions, and I feel for me personally, I feel like the golf courses have been a little harder, But overall, I think the main thing for me is first trying to get off to a good start, so you don’t have to, sort of chase as much the last couple of days.
“I haven’t been able to win on the European tour since then, so I think it’s hard to win anywhere.”
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