Rory McIlroy’s mentee Tom McKibbin ignores advice, signs with Jon Rahm’s LIV Golf team

Jon Rahm has made a splash signing before his second LIV Golf season.

Twenty-two-year-old Tom McKibbin, who is currently 21st in the European Ryder Cup rankings, will join Rahm’s Legion XIII and play alongside him, Tyrrell Hatton, and Caleb Surratt. McKibbin hails from Northern Ireland and grew up playing at Holywood Golf Club, the same course Rory McIlroy played as a youth.

McKibbin has long admired McIlroy, looking up to him as a mentor. The two even held multiple conversations about this topic throughout December.

“I said to him, ‘If I were in your shoes, I would make a different choice than the one you’re thinking of making,’” McIlroy said of McKibbin on Jan. 15 in Dubai.

“I think, you know, working so hard to get your tour card in the States... to achieve that goal last year was a big achievement.”

Since McKibbin finished 18th in the final Race to Dubai rankings on the DP World Tour last year, he earned a PGA Tour card for the 2025 season. The top 10 finishers in the final DP World Tour season-long rankings — not otherwise exempt — receive PGA Tour membership for the following season. McKibbin was the 10th player to earn a card and would have played on tour this season. But his decision to go to LIV forfeits his PGA Tour playing privileges.

“I think what he potentially is sacrificing and giving up, with access to majors, potential Ryder Cup spot, depending on, you know, 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... But if I were in his position and I had his potential, which I think I have been before, I wouldn’t make that decision,” McIlroy added.

“But I’m not him. I’m not in his shoes. He’s a grown man at this point and can make his own decisions. All I can do is try to give him my perspective.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.