Tom McKibbin has sealed his place at the 2026 Masters and The Open by completing a dominant wire-to-wire victory at the Hong Kong Open.
Having entered the final round with just a one-shot lead, McKibbin produced a superb 63 to finish seven shots clear of Peter Uihlein in second.
Having claimed the second professional victory of his career, the Northern Irishman is now set to make his Masters debut at Augusta in April, live on Sky Sports.
The Asian Tour event attracted a strong field with qualification for two of next year’s majors being available for the winner – a prize that was particularly appealing to golfers such as McKibbin who play on the breakaway LIV Tour.
McKibbin claimed the second victory of his professional career
Having led all the way, McKibbin made a fast start with two birdies in the first three holes, before adding another at the par-three eighth to remain two shots ahead of Uilhein at the turn.
The 22-year-old then hit the accelerator, birdieing five of the next seven holes, while Uilhein made a quadruple-bogey eight at the 14th to effectively end the contest.
McKibbin made his only bogey of the round – and just his third of the week – at the final hole, as he added to his only other pro victory at the 2023 European Open in Germany.
“It was obviously amazing, I played some of the best golf I’ve probably ever played,” McKibbin told R&A TV after his round.
“It was a little strange building that big lead coming in. It was a little bit of a weird feeling. I just tried to take advantage of those holes that were birdie chances, par-5s and wedge opportunities. It was nice to take advantage of those and stretch out the lead coming in.”
Along with making his Masters debut, McKibbin will also get the opportunity to make his third Open appearance, with the 2026 event taking place at Royal Birkdale.
“Very excited to go back and play my third Open, it’ll be very cool,” McKibbin added. “And have that drive down Magnolia Lane for the first time ever be even more special.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
