Jon Rahm’s swoop for PGA Tour’s ‘next Rory McIlroy’ grants him his LIV Golf wish

Jon Rahm was near successful request of a caller Legion XIII subordinate aft Kieran Vincent was relegated from the LIV Golf league successful 2024 - keen connected recruiting a Callaway unit prima arsenic a replacement

Jon Rahm secured the Callaway unit subordinate helium was keen on, aft Tom McKibbin made the determination to LIV Golf's Legion XIII set-up.

The 30-year-old squad skipper suffered a important setback erstwhile his squad mislaid Kieran Vincent to relegation successful 2024, with the Zimbabwean finishing 54th successful the league's standings. Back successful October, discussing a imaginable replacement for Vincent, Rahm expressed his tendency to bring connected committee a Callaway unit player, fixed his aboriginal aspirations to collaborate with the brand.

And Rahm's privation came true, arsenic McKibbin often dubbed 'the adjacent Rory McIlroy' confirmed his power to LIV. The 22-year-old Northern Irishman earned his PGA Tour paper acknowledgment to his stellar performances connected the DP World Tour successful 2024.

However, the young endowment opted not to articulation the prestigious banner. Ten Golf reported successful January that helium was nearing a determination to the lucrative LIV league, with the Spanish work besides highlighting that McKibbin was precocious connected Rahm's database of targets pursuing Vincent's exit from Legion XIII.

This follows reports from LIV sources to Mirror Sport successful December that 1 of the 10 players who received their PGA Tour paper astatine the DP World Tour Championship successful November had been approached by the Saudi-backed setup. The summation of McKibbin, who has been portion of Team Callaway for implicit a year, is undoubtedly a invited improvement for Rahm, reports the Mirror US.

In a chat successful January 2024, McKibbin said of his concern with Callaway: "I've been investigating caller Callaway and Odyssey products with the Tour squad implicit the wintertime and I can't hold to enactment my caller instrumentality into competitory play. I've been a long-time instrumentality of Callaway instrumentality and I'm assured I tin instrumentality a large measurement forwards successful my vocation utilizing their clubs and golf ball."

Sharpening his crippled astatine the aforesaid Holywood Golf Club arsenic McIlroy, McKibbin's skills person not gone unnoticed, earning him sizeable plaudits from his chap countryman for his awesome show connected the links. Recounting the infinitesimal McKibbin secured his PGA paper successful November, McIlroy said: "I was looking astatine the person committee and I saw Tom got successful the apical 10 and I thought okay, good."

McIlroy continued: "When I was walking disconnected the last, I didn't spot his sanction and I spot him earlier I signed my paper and helium was congratulating me, and I didn't privation to inquire I said, 'yay oregon nay? ' And helium said, 'yes.' I'm blessed for him. That was a monolithic extremity for him was to get 1 of those 10 cards and spell play successful America. Super blessed for him."

Despite expectations, McKibbin has diverged from the PGA Tour path, having precocious decided to articulation the high-money ranks of LIV, alongside Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and Caleb Surrat for the 2025 season. His power to the LIV circuit was confirmed connected Wednesday (January 29), mounting the signifier for his debut astatine LIV's archetypal tourney of the twelvemonth successful Riyadh travel Thursday (February 6).

Last month, McIlroy expressed his disappointment arsenic McKibbin was astir to motion with LIV, stating that if helium were successful McKibbin's position, helium would take to stay with the PGA Tour. According to the BBC, McIlroy said: "I deliberation he's got a ton of potential. I said to him, 'if I were successful your shoes, I would marque a antithetic prime than the 1 you're reasoning of making'.

"Working truthful hard to get your circuit paper successful the States, thing that helium did, to execute that extremity past twelvemonth was a large achievement. I deliberation what helium perchance is sacrificing and giving up with entree to majors, imaginable Ryder Cup spot, if I were successful his presumption and I had his potential, which I deliberation I person been before, I wouldn't marque that decision."