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Rory McIlroy has detailed a phone conversation with LIV bound Tom McKibbin and described his impending move as “disappointing.”
McIlroy’s protégé McKibbin, who honed his skills on the same Holywood Golf Club as the four-time major champion, is about to sign a shock deal with the Saudi-backed breakaway league.
The Northern Irishman’s rumoured £4million move to Jon Rahm’s team comes as a surprise given his close connection to McIlroy and the fact he had just claimed his first PGA Tour card.
McIlroy was one of the first to congratulate McKibbin after he secured his US playing rights here in Dubai only two months ago. But the 22-year-old will forsake a chance to play on the PGA Tour in 2025 in favour of LIV, a sacrifice McIlroy told him that he simply would not have made.
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“As soon as he got the offer, he rang me,” McIlroy revealed ahead of his defence of the Dubai Desert Classic here at the Emirates Club.
“We had a really good conversation and I talked to him multiple times over the course of December get a feel for what he was thinking, and what he was going to do. All I could do is give my perspective.
“I really like Tom as a person, as a player. I think he’s got a ton of potential. I said to him, if I were in your shoes, I would make a different choice than the one you’re thinking of making.
“Working so hard to get your Tour card in the States, something that he did, to achieve that goal last year was a big achievement. But if I were in his position and I had his potential, which I think I have been before, I wouldn’t make that decision.
“But I’m not him. I’m not in his shoes. He’s a grown man at this point and can make his own decisions. All I can do is try to give him my perspective.
“It would personally for me it would be a little disappointing if it were to happen but again, I made it perfectly clear: I am not going to stand your way if you need to make the decision you feel like you need to make for yourself.
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“But at the same time, I feel like he’s giving up a lot to not really benefit that much.”
Regardless of his decision, McIlroy clearly holds no hard feelings towards McKibbin.
He continued: “He has to make his own decision, and when he does, whatever way that goes, I’m always going to be a fan of his. I’m always going to try to help him in whatever way that I can.
“I think we all see the potential that he has, and I definitely think he can be a Top-10 player in the world. Obviously his ranking won’t show that for the next couple years if he makes one decision over another.”
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