Inside Tom McKibbin’s LIV Golf transfer after PGA Tour star approached rival league over making move

Tom McKibbin became LIV Golf's cardinal signing implicit the offseason, and his LIV Golf skipper Jon Rahm has opened up connected however they signed the 22-year-old Northern Irishman

Jon Rahm has revealed his new LIV Golf teammate Tom McKibbin made an attack to the breakaway league to articulation the roster for the 2025 season.

McKibbin completed the Legion XIII squad for the existent campaign, aft being signed by Rahm ahead of the opening lawsuit astatine Riyadh Golf Club successful Saudi Arabia this week. The determination came arsenic a daze to many, aft McKibbin had secured a paper connected the PGA Tour conscionable 2 months earlier.

Speaking aft making his debut this week, Rahm revealed the determination came astir aft McKibbin himself showed involvement successful joining to the Saudi-funded circuit.

"He expressed his involvement to articulation LIV," the erstwhile world No. 1 said. "As acold arsenic I know, determination wasn't immoderate teams trying to out-bid anybody. I don't cognize if that was the lawsuit oregon if it was him saying I don't privation to spell anyplace other oregon what the situation, but I thought helium would beryllium a prize player. I'm blessed we got him."

McKibbin echoed Rahm's claim, revealing Legion XIII were the lone squad helium spoke to. "That's the lone 1 I spoke to," helium said. "Yeah, I'm very, precise blessed I'm here. So thanks. Thanks, Jon." McKibbin was 1 of the 10 best-performing players connected the DP World Tour past season, frankincense earning him a PGA Tour paper successful 2025.

In December Mirror Sport reported that 1 of 10 players who had secured playing rights successful the United States from the Wentworth-based circuit successful November had contacted LIV bosses implicit a imaginable move. McKibbin has much than made the astir of his LIV debut this week, impressing crossed the opening 2 rounds.

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He followed up a seven-under-par 65 connected time one, with a three-under-69 successful circular 2 to permission him tied for sixth with his skipper Rahm astatine 10-under. Opening up connected his archetypal LIV acquisition the Northern Irishman said: "Yeah, it was evidently precise different.

"The warm-up. I've ne'er experienced before. It was decidedly a antithetic experience. I wouldn't truly accidental I was excessively nervous. I was probablymore anxious and not definite astir however it was going to go, particularly with playing astatine night, thing that nary of america person ne'er truly experienced.

"But I deliberation benignant of being capable to get that retired of the mode contiguous and cognize what's coming for the adjacent mates of daysis good. As I said, it was thing precise antithetic but precise pleased that it didn't impact maine excessively much." McKibbin sits six shots down person Adrian Meronk successful the idiosyncratic standings.

In the squad facet of the contention the Northern Irishman and his Legion XIII teammates person dominated implicit the archetypal 36 holes. They caput into Saturday's last circular with a mammoth 11-shot vantage implicit Torque GC successful 2nd place.