Rory McIlroy says LIV Golf-linked Tom McKibbin making 'sacrifice not worth it'

Tom McKibbin, who has been mentored by McIlroy after following him through the ranks at Holywood Golf Club on the outskirts of Belfast, is believed to be set for an imminent switch to LIV Golf, with $5 million over two years being rumoured as the fee that has lured the 22-year-old to join Jon Rahm’s Legion III team.

If it’s true, McKibbin will lose the 2025 PGA Tour card he secured through last season’s DP World Tour Race to Dubai and also severely hamper his hopes of representing Europe in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in September.

“Yeah, look, I have known Tom since he was 10 years old, 11 years old, and as soon as he got the offer, he rang me,” said McIlroy, speaking at Emirates Golf Club ahead of his bid to win the Hero Dubai Desert Classic for the third year in a row and fifth time in total.

“I just landed in New Zealand. We had a really good conversation. And I talked to him multiple times over the course of December to sort of get a feel for, you know, what he was thinking and basically what he was going to do. And all I could do is give my perspective.

“I really like Tom as a person, as a player. I think he's got a ton of potential. Look, I said to him, if I were in your shoes, I would make a different choice than the one you're thinking of making. Working so hard to get your Tour card in the States, something that he did, to achieve that goal last year was a big achievement. I think what he potentially is sacrificing and giving up with access to majors, a potential Ryder Cup spot is not worth it.

“Look, I don't think anything is official yet. But, if I were in his position and I had his potential, I wouldn't make that decision. But I'm not him. I'm not in his shoes. He's a grown man at this point and can make his own decisions. All I can do is try to give him my perspective.

“Yeah, look, it would be personally for me it would be a little disappointing if it were to happen but I made it perfectly clear: I am not going to stand your way if you need to make the decision you feel like you need to make for yourself. But at the same time, I feel like he's giving up a lot to not really benefit that much.”

Given that Rahm, for example, received a whopping $476 million when he signed for LIV Golf just over a year ago while Tyrrell Hatton got a reported $60m when he joined Legion III, the figure being rumoured for McKibbin isn’t exactly eye-popping.

“Yeah, no one knows exactly how much he's going to get,” added McIlroy, who was one of the loudest critics of players joining LIV Golf in its launch year but has mellowed a bit since then.

“What I would say is, there is still a ton of money to be made on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. There is so much money in the game, and some would argue too much money in the game for the eyeballs that we attract. But I think that for whatever the benefit may be, I don't think it's worth the sacrifice to what he's potentially going to give up.”

In his chats with him, had McKibbin, who has regularly played in practice rounds with McIlroy over the past few years, been headstrong about wanting to join the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit? “No, very open to hearing my perspective and I appreciated him calling me to get it, as well,” said the world No 2.

“But, at the end of the day, he has to make his own decision, and when he does, whatever way that goes, I'm always going to be a fan of his. I'm always going to try to help him in whatever way that I can.

“Whatever way he chooses to go, he's going to live with it, which is totally fine. I think we all see the potential that he has, and I definitely think he can be a top-10 player in the world. But obviously his ranking won't show that for the next couple years if he makes one decision over another.”

As for that award, McIlroy was delighted to receive the 2024 Seve Ballesteros Award from the great man’s son, Javier, after being voted as the DP World Tour Player of the Year by his peers on the circuit for the fourth time. “As I said to Javier, the legacy that his dad left on not just European golf but global golf will live on forever,” said McIlroy of Ballesteros.

Looking ahead to this year’s match at Bethpage Black, he added: “Our whole motivation, our whole thing that we rally around on the Ryder Cup team is Seve, and we feel like we have an advantage because of that. Honestly, the Americans don't have a character like that to rally around. So I think we're very lucky that we've got Seve to do that with.”