Tom McKibbin seals Open, Masters spots with thumping Hong Kong Open win
PEOPLE'S CHAMPION: Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin holds the trophy after winning the Hong Kong Open at Fanling golf club. Pic: Peter Parks, AFP via Getty Images
Tom McKibbin’s first-ever start on the Asian Tour will be remembered for a long time after the Northern Irish man won the US$2million Hong Kong Open Sunday by a whipping seven shots.
A final-round seven-under-par 63 saw McKibbin complete a stunning start-to-finish victory in the celebrated tournament, with a four-round aggregate of 27-under 253. Not only that but the win
also earned him a place in The Open Championship and Masters at Augusta in 2026.
American Peter Uihlein was his nearest challenger. Uihlein closed with a 68 to finish seven behind, while Tomoyo Ikemura (65) from Japan, South African Louis Oosthuizen (67) and America’s MJ Maguire (70) tied for third, a shot further back in the seventh of nine events on The International Series, the set of LIV Golf-backed tournaments on the Asian Tour calendar.
McKibbin’s performance saw him break the tournament’s 72-hole low scoring total and match its biggest margin of victory.
“It was obviously amazing,” said the 22-year-old after his second victory as a professional. “I played some of the best golf I have probably ever played."
The LIV Golf star, who plays for Jon Ram’s Legion XIII team, had a one-shot lead over Maguire at the start of the day and after holding off the chasing pack on the front nine – going out in three under with birdies on one, three and eight – he pulled away on the second half with birdies on 10, 11, 13, 14, and 16. A bogey on the last was only his third of the week.
The previous lowest 72 total was 22-under – held by José María Olazábal (2002), Ian Poulter (2010), and Patrick Reed (2024) – while both Bernhard Langer and Bill Brask won by seven in 1991 and 1984 respectively.
He added: “It means a lot. With a tournament with so much history behind it, and you know, great players that have won this tournament, to have the scoring record is pretty special, and something that will definitely live with me forever.”
It was a timely victory by the young Irishman as this year marked the first time that Augusta National Golf Club and The R&A have invited the winner to their Majors.
“Very excited to go back and play my third Open, it will be very, very cool. And to have that drive down Magnolia Lane for the first time ever, it will be even more special. You know, I think sort of historic tournaments like this deserve those spots, and yeah, it’s great to sort of take advantage of those.”
A calamitous quadruple bogey eight on the par-four 14th put fellow LIV Golf star Uihlein out of the running, but he did well to finish runner-up.
As for McKibbin, he said: “Unreal. He played unbelievably well. There is really nothing more to say – shooting seven-under on a Sunday is incredible. I think he missed just one green, and even then he made par. He was so efficient and composed. Super impressive. That was awesome to watch.”
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