5 hours Ago By [email protected] (Joshua Lees)
Rory McIlroy took the time to celebrate Tom McKibbin securing a PGA Tour card for the very first time, just moments after he himself was crowned Race to Dubai champion at the DP World Tour Championship. McIlroy signed off his season in style in the Middle East, winning the DP World Tour Championship and thus earning him a sixth Race to Dubai crown. The achievement - which also came with a collective £5 million bonus - saw McIlroy make history by drawing level with Seve Ballesteros in Order of Merit victories.
The win was a monumental one for the 35-year-old, who is continuing his pursuit to become the most succesful European golfer of all time, but he was not the only one celebrating. Ten other players in the field also came away with a reward, with the top-10 ranked players in the Race to Dubai Rankings (not already exempt) earning full PGA Tour cards for the 2025 season. One of those was McKibbin, who has been dubbed as McIlroy's prodigy in recent years.
The Northern Irishman has built a strong relationship with his fellow countryman, McIlroy, and he was there to greet the champion when coming off the green at the Earth Course on Sunday. Whilst it was McIlroy who was crowned champion, his attention quickly turned to McKibbin. Appearing to ask the younger whether he made the cut onto the PGA Tour, McKibbin offered a modest smile and nod before being embraced by McIlroy.
"Yeah, very exciting," McKibbin said of securing his card. "Yeah it would be great to be over there on the PGA Tour. For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US .
"A tour I've watched alongside, and it will be great over there and play some golf ." Confident that he has the ability to compete in the States, he added: "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." Remarkably, McIlroy revealed he was keeping an eye on the progress of his fellow Northern Irishman in the heat of battle in Sunday's final round.
"I was looking at the leaderboard and I saw Tom got in the top 10 and I thought okay, good," he said in his post-tournament press conference. "When I was walking off the last, I didn't see his name and I see him before I signed my card and he was congratulating me, and I didn't want to ask -- I said, 'Yay or nay?' And he said, 'Yes.' I'm happy for him.
That was a massive goal for him was to get one of those ten cards and go play in America. Super happy for him.".
