Tom McKibbin wins inaugural Major Champions Invitational
Tom McKibbin with the trophy
Holywood's Tom McKibbin won the inaugural Nick Faldo-run Major Champions Invitational at Bella Collina in Florida.
The Irish Boys international (15) opened with a four-under 68 before making a hole-in-one at the 16th in a second-round 67 to go into the final round tied for second, one stroke behind American Akshay Bhatia.
An eagle two at the 311-yard sixth and a birdie at the ninth saw him move to the top of the leaderboard in the final round before mixing two birdies with two bogeys on the back nine for a 69 and a one-shot win over American Julian Perico Ibaicena on 12-under par.
Lurgan's Annabel Wilson was 15th in the girls' event on six-over par after rounds of 76, 75 and 71.
Mexico's Corey Lopez won by two strokes on 15-under par from Sweden's Linn Grant.
The Major Champions Invitational is a junior golf tournament created by Faldo and supported by major champions to provide juniors, male or female, with a one-of-a-kind competition experience.
An extension of the Faldo Series, the event was designed to give the major champions an opportunity to mentor and inspire the next generation of players while giving back to the game.
Team Dustin Johnson won the team title by seven strokes on 19-under from Team Nicklaus with Team McIlroy — comprising McKibbin, Wilson and Americans Phoebe Brinker and Allan Kournikova (the half-brother of Anna Kournikova) — tied for fifth.
McKibbin is set to tee it up on an Irish Boys team in a match with France later this month before heading to South Carolina to play in the Sage Valley Invitational — a Masters-style junior event played close to Augusta — from April 19-21.
Corey Lopez and Tom McKibbin with Sir Nick Faldo
