Tom McKibbin has yet to taste individual success since moving to LIV Golf but the 22-year-old Northern Irishman is banking plenty of greenbacks as part of Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team.
While Joaquin Niemann again won the individual tournament in LIV Mexico over the weekend (pocketing another $4 million for the win), McKibbin was also in the money after Legion XIII won the team competition for a second time since his arrival.
Legion XIII – featuring Rahm, McKibbin, Tyrrell Hatton and Caleb Surratt – won the team element of the tournament from the all-Australian Ripper GC. “I’m proud of everybody, to hear all four of us shot under par is not easy, it’s a hard golf course,” said Rahm of his men who shared the $3 million team prize ($750,000 each).
McKibbin only managed to finish tied-34th in the individual competition (which earned him $146,500, taking his total haul from Mexico to $896,500).
Aside from the multimillion-dollar pay-day, Niemann’s win also secured him a place in the field for the US Open at Oakmont in June.
Mao Saigo in at the deep end after first Major win
Japan’s Mao Saigo’s post-round dramatics after winning the Chevron Championship – for her first Major title success – almost matched the theatre provided for her to get her hands on the trophy, her victory coming after emerging from a five-woman playoff.
Unfortunately for Saigo, one of the traditions associated with winning the Chevron is for the victor to jump into the pond by the 18th green at the Woodlands in Texas ... which, for the non-swimmer, had consequences.
“I was a bit too shy to jump in the pond by myself so I wanted to invite other people to jump in the pond with me ... I’m not really a good swimmer. When I went inside it was deep and at first I thought I was going to drown,” said the 23-year-old who, fortunately, was joined in the water by her caddie Jeffrey Snow and manager Rika Arai.
Snow remarked afterward: “It was scary. Every time I broke the surface, I got pulled under again.”
Saigo, last year’s rookie of the year on the LPGA Tour, won $1.2 million for her win. “I still have four more Majors to go, and I want to shoot for number one in the world. I will do my best in the remaining four Majors,” she said.
By the Numbers: 1
In what is a quiet week on the main professional circuits, with no events on the DP World Tour or the Ladies European Tour, Séamus Power is the lone Irish player in action on the PGA Tour, competing in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in McKinney, Texas.
Word of Mouth
“I’m looking forward to a couple days off and then sort of kicking the feet up and trying to recharge the batteries a little bit” – Rory McIlroy on taking some rest. McIlroy and team-mate Shane Lowry finished tied-12th in defence of their Zurich Classic of New Orleans (won by Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak). McIlroy is missing this week’s Byron Nelson but is scheduled to return at next week’s Truist Championship in Philadelphia.
On this day: April 29th, 1979
He went by the name of “Scruffy” – a nickname acquired for his inattention to fashion – but Simon Hobday’s quirkiness didn’t affect his golf, as the South African proved in winning the Madrid Open at Club de Campo.
Hobday’s second of two career wins on the European Tour came with rounds of 67-73-71-74 for a three-under-par total of 285, two shots clear of the trio of Gordon J Brand, Francesco Abreu and Tienie Britz.
In a professional career which saw him win 17 times, including the 1994 US Seniors Open on the Champions Tour, Hobday’s fashion sense, of lack of it, was such that he once wrote a letter to a golf clothing brand looking for payment not to wear their outfits.
Hobday was known to wash his golf clothes in hotel room baths, using his putter to stir them, and then choosing his next day outfit with the putter lottery of whatever was fished out first.
Social Swing
“To my fans ... I decided yesterday to stop my golfing career. 20 years with highs and lows. So much fun and tears. This game is insane. And I LOVED IT! It’s the best. I would like to thank all my fans, my family, my friends, every sponsor that helped me and of course the DP World Tour family, and all the players and caddies. And special thanks to four of my idols. José María Olazábal, Fred Couples, Davis Love III and of course the boss, Tiger Woods. It was fun, it was hard, it was fantastic. But I can’t do that anymore. My priorities have switched. I will play one last tournament at Crans Montana in August. It’s a very special place for me. Merci, gracias, thank you.” – Mike Lorenzo Vera on bringing his career to an end. The Frenchman had seven professional wins, including four on the Challenge Tour, but never managed a victory on the main DP World Tour, his closest call coming in the Sicilian Open where he lost a playoff to Joakim Lagergren in 2018.
“73 for a 2 under total, T36th. Missed a couple of chances early on and then kind of lost my way. Sometimes this can be a problem on a Sunday when you just go out there to shoot a really low one @ChampionsTour @MEClassicGolf” – Pádraig Harrington on disappointing finish to the Mitsubishi Electric Classic won by Gerry Kelly. Darren Clarke finished tied-21st. Both Harrington and Clarke are playing in this week’s Insperity Invitational in Houston, Texas.
In the Bag: Marco Penge (Volvo China Open winner)
Driver: Mizuno ST-X 230 (8.5 degrees)
3-wood: Mizuno ST-Max 230 (15 degrees)
Utility iron: Mizuno, Pro Fli Hi (2)
Irons: Mizuno Pro S-3 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM10 (50 and 56 degrees), Titleist Vokey SM10-WW Proto (60 degrees)
Putter: Titleist SC Super Rat I
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 (25)
Know the Rules
Q: During the first round of a 36-hole stroke play competition which was scheduled to be played on one day, a player, having holed out at the third hole, plays a practice putt on the third green. What is the ruling?
A: There is no penalty. The permissions for practising in Rule 5.5b override the prohibitions in Rule 5.2b in that a player is allowed to practise on or near the putting green of the hole just completed even if he or she will play that hole again on the same day.
