McKibbin aiming high after another major cut success

Tom McKibbin. Picture: LIV Golf

Tom McKibbin believes major golf might be more up his street that LIV Golf’s weekly birdie-fest after he cruised easily through the cut line at the PGA Championship.

A mud ball, leading to a bogey at his final hole, prevented him following his first sub-par round in a major with his first bogey-free effort.

But after adding a level par 71 to his opening 70 to trail early halfway leader Jhonattan Vegas by seven strokes, the Holywood star aims keep plotting his way around long and testing Quail Hollow and notch his best major finish.

“A top 20 would be a nice week,” McKibbin (22) said. “I think 40th or so is my best before in a major so if I can just keep, beating my best every time I play in one, that'll be a small victory for me.

Boasting a 180mph ball speed, he ranks among the longer hitters at a par-71 test measuring 7,555 yards yesterday.

One under for his front nine, where he birdied the 15th before tapping in for stress-free pars at the Green Mile closing trio of holes, he parred his way home before a “mud ball” led to him short-siding his 201-yard seven iron at the ninth.

“It was very, very solid golf,” he said. “I managed my game quite nicely. I didn't play as good today as I played yesterday, and sort of chipped and putted quite nicely.

He’d love to be more aggressive but with trouble lurking everywhere, he’s happy to play the percentages and slowly creep up the leaderboard.“I mean, obviously you come here and you want to do well and play all four rounds. And I think trying to get off to a pretty nice start is key. It's very easy to very easy to make a bogey on any hole. And if you have a have a few bogeys early, it can be for quite a stressful day.”

While there are birdies to be had, they come at a cost.

“I find it hard to make a lot of birdies on most weeks,” he said. “So I feel like weeks where you don't have to make as many, or it's playing a little bit tougher, I quite like.”

McKibbin opted for LIV rather than the PGA Tour  but the decision to move from Venezuela to the US at 18 has worked out for leader Vegas, who has won four PGA Tour events and $19.4 million.

He looked set to take a four shot lead early yesterday but double bogeyed the fearsome 18th and added a 70 to his opening 64 to lead by two shots on eight-under from France’s Matthieu Pavon, who showed a return to form with a 65.

“I feel like finishing so late yesterday, not getting a great sleep, and having to come back early kind of put me not in the best mood all day,” said Vegas.

“Like I said, it was tough coming back. But I would say it was a very solid round.

“Every chance you get to lead a major and play with the lead is never easy. So I feel proud of a solid round today.“Like I said, it was tough coming back. But I would say it was a very solid round.”

McKibbin’s LIV Golf colleague Bryson DeChambeau is one of the most aggressive players in the game but even he found birdies hard to come by as he made five in a three-under 68 that left him five shot behind Vegas.

“It's a great test,” DeChambeau said. “I've just got to have my putting a little more on and keep playing the way I am.. I think a 65, 64 is out there.

“I almost shot it out there today and I definitely saw it out there, I just didn't accomplish it.”

He’s a player McKibbin likes, even if he can’t quite match him for distance.

“Yeah, he's a good guy,” said McKibbin, who reckons he’s gained around ten yards off the tee this year through training. “Played with him a few times. He's obviously a phenomenal golfer. Hits the ball a mile. Obviously attracts a lot of people. Seems like he's the cool dude in golf at the minute. So yeah, he's pretty cool.”

While DeChambeau didn’t shoot 64, Max Homa did, almost holing his tee shot at the 341 yard 14th as he carded an eagle there as well as six birdies and a bogey to sit just three shots behind Vegas on five-under.

The 2023 US Ryder Cup star has crashed from a career high of fifth in the world two year ago to 78th, completely losing confidence in his swing.

But after changing caddie and finding a new swing coach, his results are starting to improve and he feels he’s turned the corner.

“It’s been difficult because I felt like I was so broken,” said Homa, who bested his previous low round at a major at the 2024 Masters by three shots.