Tom McKibbin won’t be too disappointed with his opening round at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush, finishing Thursday at one over par. He’ll feel there’s still plenty to play for over the next three days.
It looked like nerves might have been a factor early on, similar to what Rory McIlroy experienced in the past. McKibbin bogeyed the first after missing the fairway into some heavy rough.
But the 22-year-old settled down quickly, picking up two birdies and an eagle before making the turn. The back nine was tougher, but his score keeps him very much in contention with three rounds still to play.
After his round, the young golfer shared his thoughts on what made Thursday particularly tough.
Tom McKibbin admits he was surprised by the course set-up at The Open’s first round
There was a real chance for players to take advantage early, with the weather holding up nicely. But getting close to some of those pins turned out to be a lot tougher than expected.
In fact, McKibbin – who has been a member at the Northern Irish course – suggested that he was taken aback by the set-up for the first round.
“It was tricky. Some of the pin positions are really good. They’re just over just slopes. I played here so many times, and you would never even think of seeing pins where they are. It played pretty tricky,” he said in his press conference after the round.
Padraig Harrington seemed to be on the same page as McKibbin. Speaking on Sky Sports, David Howell mentioned that even Harrington looked confused as they walked up the fifth hole.
“Funnily enough, I’ve just seen the pin, as has Padraig. We walked up to the green together and he said: ‘David, imagine when we first started, the person that’s put the pin where it is would have been sacked in about five minutes’. Safe to say it’s a tricky one,” he said.
Tom McKibbin gives himself a fighting chance at Royal Portrush
There was some talk before the tournament that McKibbin could be a surprise package at The Open, given his familiarity with Royal Portrush and his ties to Legion XIII.
He knows the job isn’t done yet if he wants to remain in contention. Still, his post-round comments suggested confidence rather than frustration, as he implied there’s more in the tank for the days ahead.
“Yeah, it was as you say. A little bit of everything in there, a little bit of good, a little bit of bad. Overall one over. Not great but not bad. Overall not too annoyed but not happy,” he said.
“I don’t know. Obviously I was two over after three. I don’t really feel like I hit too bad of a shot to sort of be in that position. I just missed the fairway on 1 and didn’t have a good lie at all. I hit a good shot into three and came up a little bit short.”
“Then started to play quite nicely after that. Only sort of struggled on the holes with wind off the left besides that it was okay,” he added.
The weather is always a factor at The Open, but for now, McKibbin has kept himself in touch with the leaders after day one.
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