Jon Rahm got his man, and Tom McKibbin’s move to join the Spaniard’s Legion XIII on the LIV Golf Tour will shine a light, literally, on how the new season shapes up.
The season-opener will be played under floodlights in Riyadh – starting Thursday, finishing Saturday – with team leader Rahm reckoning that McKibbin’s arrival will further strengthen his team.
Legion XIII’s success last season came on the back of Rahm’s exploits (winning twice while claiming the season-long individual championship) and Tyrrell Hatton, who won once and finished fourth in the points standings. American Caleb Surrat, just 20 years old, and Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent completed the team.
However, Vincent’s relegation opened the door for a new team member with Rahm – and the persuasive power of greenbacks – inveigling McKibbin to join his team, which will be the youngest on the LIV circuit with an average age of 26.
“Tom is used to travelling the world, which I think is a big key. One of the reasons why maybe Caleb had not a good year last year compared to his standards was the fact that he had to travel so much, and he wasn’t used to it.
“Tom is definitely used to it. The DP World Tour, they definitely are able to travel a lot. So, having a young incredible talent with a bright future that’s used to the travel is something very, very special,” said Rahm, adding: “On paper, (with McKibbin’s arrival) we could be even stronger this year than we were last year.”
Fields of green
It’s a sign of the times, perhaps, that there will be nearly as many Irish women golfers competing on the various professional tours this week as men.
While Leona Maguire, after a top-10 finish in the season-opening HGV Tournament of Champions, remains stateside for the Founders Cup on the LPGA Tour at Bradenton Country Club in Florida, there are no fewer than five players in action in the Ladies European Tour’s season’s starter in the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco.
Lauren Walsh, who enjoyed a hugely successful rookie season on the LET, heads a quintet that also features Anna Foster, Anabel Wilson, Sara Byrne (who all won cards at Q-School) and Olivia Mehaffey, who is playing on a sponsor’s invite.
Pádraig Harrington is also in Dar Es Salem for the Hassan II Trophy tournament on the Champions Tour, while Séamus Power is the only Irish player in the WM Phoenix Open and Conor Purcell is also the only Irishman in the field for the Qatar Masters on the DP World Tour.
On the HotelPlanner Tour (formerly the Challenge Tour), Liam Nolan – after back-to-back top-fives – will aim to continue that momentum in the Cape Town Open in South Africa, where Max Kennedy, Dermot McElroy and Jonny Caldwell are also playing.
Word of Mouth
“He’s honestly, to me, getting better as he ages, which I don’t think people do much. He’s hitting it maybe further than he ever has and hitting it better than he ever has. First week out on tour and looks like he’s dominating. Good for him. I know he works hard. We practice at the same place at home and he works his butt off and he deserves everything he gets” – Lucas Glover on Rory McIlroy.
By the Numbers: $6,032,000
Of the $20 million purse at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, one of the signature events on the PGA Tour, more than $6 million was claimed by the three Irish players in the field. Rory McIlroy won $3.6 million for his victory; Shane Lowry claimed $2.16 million for his solo runner-up finish; and Séamus Power won $272,000 for his tied-17th.
On this day: February 4th, 2001
New Zealander Michael Campbell was in imperious form as he successfully defended the Heineken Classic at The Vines resort in Perth, Western Australia. The Kiwi’s final round 64 gave him a total of 18-under-par 270 to finish five strokes clear of David Smail.
Nick O’Hern had led Campbell by two shots headed into the final round but the left-hander’s grip on the trophy came undone with a quadruple bogey eight on the Par 4 sixth hole and never recovered, ultimately finishing in third.
“One hole shouldn’t make a difference to a golf tournament, but maybe it did for me,” O’Hern said of his sixth-hole calamity, adding: “When Michael is on his game, he is just as good as anyone.”
Campbell’s fourth career win on the European Tour – with the tournament co-sanctioned with the Australasian Tour – also gave him notions of aiming higher: “It’s time to go to the next level. I want to be a contender in Majors. My ultimate aim is to win a Major, and I feel my game is shaping up well.”
That self-prophecy would take a further four years to manifest, when he would the 2005 US Open.
Social Game
‘Congratulations Rory McIlroy, who has claimed his first tournament victory of the year at Pebble Beach. For the celebrations, our golf ambassador wore a De Ville Tourbillon numbered edition in 18K red gold’ – post from Omega watches, letting us know McIlroy’s timepiece at Pebble Beach.
‘Welcome @Tommckibbin8′ – Tyrrell Hatton keeps it short and sweet in welcoming Tom McKibbin to the Legions XIII team at LIV golf. McKibbin makes his debut at this week’s season-opening tournament in Riyadh.
‘It is painful to lose a tournament like that but ... I wouldn’t have 9 wins on the @DPWorldTour without losing a few. I will wake up tomorrow thinking about the next opportunity' – Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal seeing the glass as half-full after losing a playing to Laurie Canter in the Bahrain Championship.
In the Bag
Rory McIlroy – AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Irons: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (46, 50, 54 and 60 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X
Ball: TaylorMade TP5
Know the Rules
Q: On a Par 3, Player A’s tee shot could be lost, so he plays a provisional ball which is holed. Player A does not wish to look for the original ball, but Player B goes to look for it. Before Player A lifts the provisional ball from the hole, Player B finds Player A’s original ball in very thick rough near the green. What is the ruling?
A: Player A must abandon the provisional ball and continue with the original ball. (This situation is covered under rules clarification 18.3c(2)/3: The score with the provisional ball that has been holed only becomes the player’s score for the hole when the player lifts the ball from within the hole before the original ball has been found within bounds).
