TOM McKIBBIN has defended his decision to join LIV Golf following Rory McIlroy’s warning that he would be “sacrificing” a place at the Ryder Cup.
The 22-year-old has penned a multi-million dollar deal with the tour to join Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team.
The Antrim had been linked with the move since early January and spoke of the reason behind it on the eve of LIV’s opening event at the Riyadh Golf Club.
And he reasoned: “Obviously being young and 22, I’ve watched this for the last couple years since it started, and it’s something that I’ve really liked to watch, something very different, something that probably appeals to more people my age.
“I think the opportunity to get to play with these guys here and learn from some of the best players in the world week in, week out is something that appealed very, very nicely to me.
“I liked the whole concept of everything, as I said, something from a younger age standpoint is something that – I sort of liked the atmosphere of it.
“It was something cool and something new to me and something I’m very much looking forward to.”
His move came despite being warned against it by Rory McIlroy.
A frequent critic of LIV since its inception, the Holywood man warned that McKibbin would be “sacrificing” his Ryder Cup future.
He argued: “I think he’s got a ton of potential. I said to him, if I were in your shoes, I would make a different choice than the one you’re thinking of making.
“I think working so hard to get your [PGA] Tour card in the States, something that he did, to achieve that goal last year was a big achievement.
“What he potentially is sacrificing and giving up with access to majors, potential Ryder Cup spot, depending on how he would play.
“If I were in his position and I had his potential, which I think I have been before, I wouldn’t make that decision.”
The Northern Irish golfer won a PGA Tour card last season after claiming one of the ten dual cards up for grabs on the DP World Tour end-of-season order of merit.
The Newtownabbey starlet has qualified for The Open at Royal Portrush but no other majors.
He will forfeit his playing privileges on the PGA Tour after penning a deal with LIV.
The world 107 will now have to rely on invitations to major championships as there’s no world ranking points on offer at LIV.
But he insisted he has no regrets as he was not going to be in the Majors anyway.
McKibbin added: “Yeah, it was definitely in my mind, but to me, I wasn’t in any of those anyway.
“Again, the opportunity to get to play with guys out here more often, more consistently was definitely a huge factor.
“I’m not in those majors anyway at the minute, so it really didn’t bother me too much.”
