The Northern Irish golfer looked all set to continue his rise on the PGA Tour until decision to make switch
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TomMcKibbincertainlywasn’tthefirst,andwon’tbethelast,tohavehisheadturnedbyLIVGolf’sgreenbacks.Yetagain,therumourmillturnedouttobespielingthetruthwiththe22-year-oldNorthernIrishman’smovetotheSaudiArabiaPIF-fundedmen’sprofessionaltournowconfirmedandascheduleddebutinnextweek’sseason-openingeventinRiyadh.
Lookinginfromtheoutside,itwouldappearastrangedecisiongivenhowMcKibbinhadmovedwithsuchseamlesseaseinnegotiatinghisownpathwaythroughtheprofessionalranksfromtheChallengeTourandontotheDPWorldTour(wherehewonthePorscheEuropeanOpeninhisrookieseasonin2023),andonwardstoacardonthePGATourthisseason,acardwhichhenowwon’tuse.Hisprofessionalpathwayalreadycontainedthepromiseofgold.
JonRahm’ssocialmediapostwelcomingMcKibbintohisLegionXIIIteamfortheupcomingLIVcampaignwassimpleandtothepoint.“It’sofficial.WelcometoLegionXIII,@tommckibbin!”camethepostfromtheSpaniard,withanaccompanyingvideowhich