Tom McKibbin, who shot up 31 spots in the world rankings to a career-high No. 97 after finishing runner-up at the Italian Open in Emilia-Romagna, can't wait to play the Open.
The young Hollywood star (21) finished with a 6-under 65, securing one of the two places at Royal Troon and a playoff with Germany's Marcel Siem.
His chances of a maiden Open and second DP World Tour title looked slim as he finished three hours behind the leader and six shots adrift in the final.
However, after making the cut in his U.S. Open debut at Pinewood last month, the Newtownabbey native’s confidence grew as he cruised to his sixth top-10 finish of the season.
While Sim denied him a second victory, finishing with a birdie to force overtime before making another birdie on the 18th to earn his sixth win, there were plenty of positives for McKibbin.
He is now eighth in the Race to Dubai and has a shot at a PGA Tour card, which is awarded to players who finish in the top 10 and are not already exempt on the PGA Tour.
“I'm so excited,” McKibbin said of the U.S. Open. “Excited. I got a taste of what it was like to play the U.S. Open a few weeks ago. So obviously, I'm looking forward to going to Troon.”
“I've never played it. I went there for a practice round the last time I played, but I can't remember anything about the game.
He withdrew from this week's BMW International Open in Munich, having already been confirmed for his Open debut, and no longer needs to play in tomorrow's final qualifying event.
“I'm a bit tired and I don't really want to play in the final qualifiers. So I'll take a break and prepare for the Scottish Open and Troon.”
He has only missed one elimination this season and has earned nearly €1 million, so he is very optimistic about his game.
“Yeah, my confidence level is pretty high,” he said yesterday. “I’ve only missed one cut this year and that was in Singapore in October when I was sick over the weekend.
“So yeah, I think everything is good. I'm happy with everything.
“My game has been pretty solid. My swing has been pretty solid, my equipment has been pretty good.
“So I think it's all been pretty easy; a lot of stress-free golf, nothing too hard.”
McKibbin wanted to test his game at the U.S. Open, and it proved to be a positive experience as he made the cut in his first major tournament and tied with world number one Scottie Scheffler in the final, as they both shot 72 and tied for 41st place.
“I think it’s a great experience to go out there and play against the best players in the world,” McKibbin said. “Pinewood is probably one of the hardest courses I’ve ever played, and it probably made my last few weeks feel a little easier, even though that wasn’t the case.
“I thought it was a great experience for me to learn about my game and come back and play some great golf after a busy couple of weeks.
“It’s been really gratifying to see my game improve because obviously you never really know the answer.
“You just watch it on TV and get judged by the people you play with, but to be out there and play, I’ve never played on a golf course of this level and difficulty before and be in the center of it all, it’s an awesome feeling.”
While McKibbin was returning from Italy, Australia's Cam Davis (29) won the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.
He won with a two-under-par 70, just one stroke behind Davis Thompson, Min Woo Lee, Aaron Rai and Akshay Bhatia, who bogeyed their final shot from 32 feet.
Bhatia’s winning birdie putt came up short, and despite not missing a putt inside six feet all week, he pushed it inside four feet to force a playoff.
“I wouldn’t wish what Akshay went through on anybody, but I’ve done a lot to get myself out of this mental hole and to be able to do this all of a sudden, it feels really good,” Davis said.
“When Akshay missed that putt, he was shocked and sad, but at the same time, he realized that a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders to try to win again.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senior Open will conclude on a Monday for the first time since 2016.
A thunderstorm at Newport Country Club halted the final round of play late Sunday afternoon, and weather conditions did not allow play to resume.
The USGA tried to schedule the final round to start at 8:20 a.m. before the storm arrived, but fog delayed the schedule by two hours.
Of the 71 players who entered, only 11 completed the final round before play was suspended due to weather at 3:01 p.m.
Darren Clarke finished with a one-over 71 to tie for 45th at two over, while overnight leader Hiroyuki Fujita of Japan had just 10 holes to move three shots ahead of Richard Bland at 16 under.
Padraig Harrington tied for 11th at 5 under through 14 holes.