After 27 tournaments, played across 20 different countries, Tom McKibbin rolled in a three-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole of the DP World Tour Championship which saw him overtake Jordan Smith into 18th place on the Race to Dubai rankings.
More crucial, however, is the fact that 18th place was good enough to secure the 10th and final PGA Tour card on offer, so the soon-to-be 22-year-old will bring his talents to the United States in the early part of 2025.
It wasn’t exactly a vintage final-round performance, but he’d put himself in a commanding position after firing a five-under 67 on moving day and he wasn’t alone in the pressure cooker environment that was the Earth Course at Jumeirah Estates in Dubai.
A birdie on the par-5 seventh was followed by bogey on eight, but a string of excellent par saves before and after the turn kept his head above water. Another birdie on the par-5 14th offered a little breathing space, but unsurprisingly, given what was at stake, he tightened up a little and made bogey from the greenside bunker on 15 and then three-putted from long range on 16 to fall back behind the 8-ball.
It was still unclear whether playing the final two holes in -1 would be enough, but anything less was sure to see him come up short. The 17th is a one of the toughest holes on the course, playing over 200 yards to an island green, but he took dead aim at the dangerous flag and gave himself a 22-footer up the hill that just slid by.
Now, nothing less than a ‘four’ on 18 would do, but he had the bit back between his teeth and drilled his tee shot down the aggressive line and followed up with a nerveless fairway wood that came to rest 30 feet from the hole. An eagle would certainly be enough, but he settled for two putts, holding his nerve with the three-foot comeback effort and as the smoke cleared, the mathematical equations confirmed that he’d earned his PGA Tour playing rights.
And it’s no less than he deserves
“Yeah, very exciting,” McKibbin said. “Yeah it would be great to be over there on the PGA TOUR, a tour I’ve watched alongside, and it will be great [to go] over there and play some golf.”
Regarding the enormity of what was on the line, he admitted that he was feeling the heat coming down the stretch on a golf course that was proving difficult and he knew that danger lurked everywhere on the closing holes.
“Yeah, I think it was a tough one,” he said. “I mean, sort of wanting to finish the tournament as best I can, knowing that was on the line, a hard golf course and pretty tricky day. Especially 17, 18, I feel like you don’t have to hit too poor of a shot find the water and likely I hit pretty good ones.”
He’s naturally excited to get the opportunity to test himself against the best players in the world on a more frequent basis, and he feels that the PGA Tour will be well suited to his game.
“I think so,” he replied when asked if he was intending to do ‘damage’ in the United States. “Seems like I like to play on some of the harder courses and that suits my game a little more, so it will be exciting to get over there and see how it goes.”