Tom McKibbin overlooks Rory McIlroy advice to join LIV

The worst kept secret in golf has finally been confirmed: Tom McKibbin is a LIV player.

McKibbin’s move to Jon Rahm’s Legion XII was made official on Wednesday night, completing the Saudi-backed league’s roster for the 2025 season.

It had first been mooted in January that McKibbin would join LIV and his refusal to comment on the matter was conspicuous in the weeks leading up to his switch.

The Northern Irishman has now foregone the chance to take up the PGA Tour card he earned back in November as part of the DP World Tour’s Ten Card initiative.

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And, intriguingly, the world No.106 has also overlooked the advice of his mentor Rory McIlroy, who honed his skills at the same Holywood Golf Club as the 22-year-old.

“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,” McIlroy said at this month’s Dubai Desert Classic when asked about McKibbin’s LIV offer.

“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.

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“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.

“But at the same time, I feel like he’s giving up a lot to not really benefit that much.”

McKibbin will join Englishman Tyrrell Hatton and the young American Caleb Surratt on Rahm’s Legion XII team for the 2025 campaign and will make his debut in the season opener in Riyadh on February 6.

He is one of six additions in LIV’s offseason after the arrivals of Ben Campbell, Frederik Kjettrup, Yubin Jang, Luis Masaveu and Max Lee.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.