Tom McKibbin was thrilled to close with a sizzling seven under 63 to clinch his Masters debut and a third appearance in The Open with a wire-to-wire seven-shot win in the Link Hong Kong Open.

The Holywood star (22) led by a shot overnight from American MJ Maguire but stretched that lead to three with a birdie to his rival’s opening bogey.

He went on to make eight birdies in all before a bogey at the last left him seven ahead of American Peter Uihlein with a record total of 253.

His 27 under par aggregate broke the tournament scoring record by six shots and tied the largest margin of victory in the event.

It also catapulted him from 109th to a career-high of 85th in the world rankings.

“Yeah, it was,” McKibbin said of his relentless play over the four days, where he opened with a course record 60 and added a brace of 65s before finishing with that 63.

“It was obviously amazing. I played some of the best golf I've probably ever played. So, yeah, to have that sort of golf and to shoot those scores around here is pretty special.”

With Augusta National and the R&A aligning their qualifying criteria this year to add the Hong Kong Open to the list of qualifying events, McKibbin now will join fellow Hong Kong Open winner and Holywood member, Rory McIlroy, at the 2026 Masters and The Open at Royal Birkdale.

“Yeah, very excited,” he said. “You know, to go back and play my third Open will be, will be very, very cool. And to have that drive down Magnolia Lane for the first time, it’ll be even more special.

“You know, I think sort of historic tournaments like this deserve their spots. And yeah, it's great to take advantage of those.”

The Newtownabbey man made 30 birdies and just three bogeys to set a new winning aggregate at Fanling, where Padraig Harrington won in 2003 and McIlroy in 2011.

“Yeah, that means a lot,” he beamed. “I mean, with a tournament with so much history behind it, and you know, great players have won this tournament, to have the scoring record is pretty special, and something that will definitely live with me forever.”

Even after racing to the turn in 31 thanks to further birdies at the third and eighth to lead by two shots from Uihlein, McKibbin knew he had to remain focused.

Four birdies in five holes after the turn - at the 10th, 11th, 13th and 14th - stretched his lead as Uihlein made a quadruple bogey eight at the 14th.

“Yeah, it was very important,” said McKibbin, who birdied the 16th before making his lone bogey with a closing three-putt.

“You know, two shots can go very quickly. Three shots can go very quickly. So, yeah, it was a little strange, building that big, big lead coming in.

“It was a little bit of a weird feeling. But, yeah, I sort of just tried to take advantage of the holes that were birdie chances, par fives and wedge opportunities.

“So yeah, nice to take advantage of those and sort of stretch out the lead coming in,”

As for his advice to young golfers at home looking to follow in his footsteps, he added, “Yeah, I guess just follow your dreams.

“You know, I've dreamt of doing this since I've been a young kid. And yeah, they come true if you dream hard enough”

McKibbin won $360,000 as Uihlein’s 68 gave him second place on 20 under and a cheque for $220,0000.

Japan's Tomoyo Ikemura (65), South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen (67) and Maguire (70) were a shot further back in third.

McKibbin now joins McIlroy and Lowry in next week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which is the first of the DP World Tour Playoffs.

He won a PGA Tour card on the DP World Tour last year but ignored McIlroy’s advice and went on to join Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team, winning the season-long team title and an individual haul of $5.77m.

Leona Maguire 60th in Malaysia

Meanwhile, Leona Maguire tied for 60th in the LPGA’s Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur.

A one-over 73 left her on one under at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club where AIG Women’s Open champion Miya Yamashita won after three-way playoff.

The Japanese star shot a joint best of the day 65 to force a playoff with overnight leader Hye-Jin Choi of Korea and Australia’s Hannah Green on 18 under before winning with a birdie at the first extra hole.

Maguire fell two spots to 55th in the rankings with two event remaining before the top 60 qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

Four qualify at Q-School Second Stage

At the Rolex Grand Final in Mallorca, England’s James Morrison closed with a two-under 70 to win by three shots from Italy’s Stefano Mazzoli on 15 under and secure a fairytale return to the DP World Tour.

As South Africa’s JC Ritchie topped the rankings to win one of 20 cards, Morrison (40) climbed 30 places to sixth to regain his playing rights.

Galway’s Liam Nolan tied for 43rd in the 45-man field on six over after a closing 72.

He now has a strong HotelPlanner Tour card, but can still qualify for the DP World Tour via the Final Stage of the Qualifying School, which starts in Tarragona on Friday.

He will be joined there by Max Kennedy, Cormac Sharvin, Mark Power and John Ross Galbraith, who came through the 72-hole Second Stage.

Kennedy tied for third on 18-under after a four-under 67 to win one of 24 spots at Isla Canela Links in Huelva, where Sharvin fired a brilliant bogey-free 64 to make it in joint 13th.

Power carded a five-under 67 to tie for eighth at Desert Springs in Almeria on 13-under.

Only 24 progressed with Galbraith squeaking through after a closing 72, edging out Argentina’s Julián Etulain in a playoff for the final spot as they tied on nine under.

Dermot McElroy (tied 60th) and Hugh Foley (66th) came up short there, while David Carey (tied 60th) and Tom Dowdall (65th) failed to progress at Fontanals in Girona.

Paul McBride (tied 30th) missed out by two shots in the battle for 23 places at Golf Las Pinallas in Albacete, where Robert Moran (tied 35th) was a shot further back.