Tom McKibbin has 38 birdies and two eagles in his last seven rounds and he rolled in seven birdies when he needed them most on day three of the DP World Tour Championship to put himself within touching distance of a PGA Tour card.
McKibbin soared up the leaderboard into a share of seventh place on eight-under-par after a round of 67 which has him projected to move from 18th to 15th in the Race to Dubai which would be enough to secure his playing rights on the PGA Tour next season.
The 21-year-old has been a heavy scorer this season and birdies at the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 15th and 18th have him just four shots off the current lead and potentially fighting on both fronts in Dubai.
“I think a bit of everything. Sort of the way I controlled the ball. It’s quite windy out there today. So trying to keep it on the short grass, which I did a pretty good job of today which made life a little bit easier,” said McKibbin.
As for his prolific scoring recently McKibbin believes scheduling has been a key factor. He did fall outside the PGA Tour card spots after taking a fortnight off to prepare for the two playoff events but his decision might just pay off.
“I think sort of the hard work I put in on those two weeks off after Sotogrande, trying to get ready for these two events, and trying to dial in the numbers and be a little bit more aggressive. I think it’s paid off quite nicely.”
Sunday will be a shootout for both the DP World Tour Championship title and those last few remaining PGA Tour cards and McKibbin has been using the pressure on his shoulders as motivation to play well with huge points on offer in the two playoff events.
“I knew coming into these last two events that I would have to play really well to get one because the points are so stacked. There’s a lot of points available. It’s so easy for people to jump all over the place.
“So I think I was focusing on these two events, big events, and trying to do the best I could.”