Tom McKibbin admits playing Royal County Down for the first time was a “traumatising” experience.

But as he makes his third Amgen Irish Open appearance in a stellar threesome with Rory McIlroy and defending champion Vincent Norrman, he’s looking forward to trying to achieve what “would probably be the biggest achievement of my career.”

A win would guarantee McKibbin his PGA Tour card for 2025 and give him a massive boost in the Ryder Cup qualifying stakes. But even with two cuts made in majors this year, an Italian Open playoff defeat and another six top-10 finishes under his belt, Royal County Down is such a tough test he’d settle for four level par rounds right now.

“The first couple of times I came here, I found it very hard and quite traumatising,” said the Holywood star (21), who split with veteran caddie David McNeilly after The Open to join forces with close friend Ricky McCormick. “But the more I've played it, the more I appreciate the course and the history of it, and I think that's what makes it special to me.”

Winning would be a dream come true — a career highlight only comparable to winning a major, as McIlroy, Pádraig Harrington and Shane Lowry can attest.

"It would mean a lot," he said. "I think it would mean a lot no matter where it was, but here at County Down would be even more special just because of the prestigiousness of the course and how special it is. It would probably be the biggest achievement of my career, and it would probably stay there forever.”

While most of the stars were doing a corporate event at Royal Portrush, McKibbin was enduring the wind and occasional rain squall at Royal County Down.

There was a time when he would be seeking out McIlroy for advice, but despite the irritation of being compared to his fellow Holywood clubman since he was a young teen, he’s now very much his own man.

“Yeah, I can if I want,” he said of texting McIlroy and why he didn’t get in touch after the world number three’s US Open near mis. “I feel comfortable to but I'm sure he gets tortured by enough people. Just leave it. I'll see him in a few weeks.”

As a great driver of the golf ball, his game is made for Majors, the PGA Tour and even the Ryder Cup. But he’s loath to make too many grand predictions, preferring to let results dictate his path.

“Yeah, I mean, of course, I think all of these things sort of grab everyone's attention,” he said. “But I think once you get out there and you start playing, I think those quickly go -- for me, anyway, they quickly go out of my mind. I just go out there and play the golf course and see what's the lowest score I can shoot.

“Obviously all these tournaments from now till next year, I'll have those points. Obviously every tournament is very important, and I think sort of just keep trying to rack up the points will be important.”

He proved he can play links golf when he made the cut on his debut in The Open at Royal Troon but he was also disappointed not to finish better than tied 66th and parted company with caddie McNeilly afterwards.

“Yeah, just sort of needed to switch it up a little bit,” he said of swapping a veteran for a novice like McCormick at a crucial stage of the year when he has a chance to win one of 10 PGA Tour cards and vital Ryder Cup qualifying points.

“He’s someone who knows my game quite well, and he's caddied for me before, so I’m very comfortable with him, and he does a good job for me.”

The top 10 in the Race to Dubai who are not already exempt will be awarded PGA Tour cards for next season, while the top four available players will automatically qualify for Justin Rose’s Great Britain and Ireland’s Team Cup team in Abu Dhabi in January and get the chance to show their matchplay nous ahead of the Ryder Cup.

McKibbin was inside the “PGA Tour Eligibility” top 10 for most of the summer, but after missing two of his last three cuts, he’s dropped to 12th and knows he can’t afford many more free weekends.

“Obviously, I want to push on to the end of the year and try and get one of those spots,” he said. “But I think I can just play well and keep playing well until the end of the year, and just see where that leaves me at the end.”

He’s not thinking about Ryder Cup points or the PGA Tour when he’s playing bu he admits make the Team Cup — formerly the Seve Trophy or Hero Cup — is a definite goal.

“I'd love to be a part of that next year,” he said

Ryder Cup qualifying points are also a huge priority for Seamus Power, McIlroy and Shane Lowry, whose representatives yesterday issued a statement confirming the end of his association with Kingspan, the Co Cavan-based insulation company heavily criticised in the Grenfell Tower Enquiry report.

Tournament

• This is the 69th edition of the island of Ireland’s national open, which was first played in 1927.

• The DP World Tour returns to Royal County Down for the first time since 2015. This is the fourth time the famed Newcastle venue has hosted this event, also doing so in 1935 and 1939.

• The tournament was previously sponsored by Horizon Therapeutics, who entered into a six-year Title Partnership in 2022. Horizon Therapeutics was acquired by Amgen in November 2023, with the American biopharmaceutical company assuming the Title Partnership of the event.

• Make-A-Wish Ireland has been the Official Charity of the Irish Open since 2022, with more than €350,000 raised over the last two editions of the tournament.

• Sweden’s Vincent Norrman won his second DP World Tour title at last year’s event, carding a final round 65 to win by one stroke from Hurly Long at The K Club.

• This is the fourth of six DP World Tour events to be held in the United Kingdom in 2024.

Players

• Four-time Major Champion and 2016 Irish Open winner Rory McIlroy is one of a number of stars from the island of Ireland teeing it up this week. He is joined by compatriot and fellow DP World Tour winner Tom McKibbin. The pair are from Holywood, Co. Down, which is just over an hour away from this week’s host venue.

• Irish Major Champions Shane Lowry and Pádraig Harrington are also in the field, both former winners of this event. Harrington claimed the title in 2007 at Adare Manor, with Lowry famously winning as an amateur in 2009 at County Louth. To date, Lowry is the most recent amateur winner on Tour.

• Two-time PGA TOUR winner Séamus Power is teeing it up this week after missing the event last year due to injury.

• Mark Power earned a place in this year’s Amgen Irish Open after winning the Christy O’Connor Junior Memorial Trophy at the Irish Challenge. He finished in a share of 11thplace and earned a spot as the leading player from the island of Ireland in the event.

• Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen will also tee it up this week after earning automatic promotion to the DP World Tour through the Challenge Tour. The Dane secured his third victory of the Road to Mallorca season at last week’s Big Green Egg German Challenge powered by VcG.

Additional Notes

Course

• Renowned as one of the best courses in the world, Royal County Down hosts the DP World Tour for the second time this week.

• The venue opened in March 1889 and is one of the oldest golf clubs on the island of Ireland.

• Was named by Golf Digest as the Greatest Golf Course in the world in 2024.

• Originally designed by Old Tom Morris, the venue has been refined by half a dozen architects over the last 120 years, most recently by Donald Steel in 1997 and again in 2004.

• The venue has hosted a number of prestigious events, including the Amateur Championship in 1970 (Michael Bonallack) and 1999 (Graeme Storm), Walker Cup (2007), Palmer Cup (2012), and The Senior Open (2000, 2001 and 2002).

 
Make-A-Wish Ireland

• Birdies for Wishes returns for 2024, with Amgen and the DP World Tour pledging to donate £400 combined for every birdie carded by the field on the first hole during the four tournament rounds.

• Amgen ambassadors Shane Lowry, Pádraig Harrington and Séamus Power have also committed to the fundraising effort, pledging to donate £400 for every birdie they card during the week.

• Make-A-Wish Ireland will have a presence in the Championship Village raising awareness of the organisation and the work they do in granting wishes to children living with life-threatening conditions.

• Activations include the Long Putt Challenge, Chipping Challenge and Beat the Pro with Brendan Lawlor.
   

Golf for Good

• Donation to the Woodland Trust to plant trees at Mourne Park for each amateur golfer in the Pro-Am

• Water refill stations in the Spectator Village

• HVO Biofuel used, saving 90 per cent of emissions

• Solar-powered lighting in practise areas with additional solar-powered contractors cabins

• Zero waste to landfill with an increased focus on recycling

• Food locally sourced, reducing hauling and freight emission

• Hospitality guests can use dedicated Aqua Libra drinking station who work in partnership with Ocean Bottle Co; for every water bottled refilled from the drinking station, two plastic bottles will be collected from beaches managed by Ocean Bottle’s trusted and verified partners

Balls for Birdies

• DP World launched its Balls for Birdies initiative in March 2024, donating golf balls to grassroots golf initiatives around the world to promote the game and make it more accessible.

• They will deliver the total of balls to selected beneficiaries at the end of the 2024 Race to Dubai using their global logistics network.

• Balls will be donated as a direct result of DP World Tour members’ performances on the golf course, with one ball donated for each birdie, two balls for each eagle and 100 balls for an albatross.

 
2024 Race to Dubai

• The 2024 Race to Dubai features three new and distinct phases; five innovative Global Swings from November 2023 to August 2024; an historic Back 9, from September 2024 to October 2024; and the DP World Tour Play-Offs in November 2024.

• The Global Swings comprise of five individual ‘Swings’, the Opening Swing, International Swing, Asian Swing, European Swing and Closing Swing.

• Each Swing will have its own identity and the top-performing player from each swing will earn US$200,000 from an overall $1,000,000 bonus pool. Swing Champions will also qualify for each event on the Back 9.

• At the conclusion of the Global Swings, a further $1,000,000 bonus pool will then be shared amongst the leading ten players on the Race to Dubai (who have played a minimum of eight ‘regular’ events outside the Majors and Genesis Scottish Open.

• The Swings also offer qualification into the first three Rolex Series events. The leading member (not otherwise exempt) from the Opening Swing (Laurie Canter) qualified for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The leading member (not otherwise exempt) from each of the International Swing (Ugo Coussaud), Asian Swing (Kiradech Aphibarnrat) and European Swing (Bernd Wiesberger) qualified for the Genesis Scottish Open. The leading member (not otherwise exempt) from the Closing Swing will qualify for the BMW PGA Championship.

• The overall top performers from the Global Swings will be rewarded with qualification into Phase Two of the season, with ten spots in each of the Back 9 events for the highest-ranked members (not otherwise exempt) within the Top 110 on the Race to Dubai Rankings.

 
DP World Tour Play-Off Eligibility

Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

• The leading available 70 members from the 2024 Race to Dubai Rankings at the conclusion of the Genesis Championship, to a floor of the cut-off for Category 10.

• A maximum of the leading available 15 players from the Non-Member Race to Dubai Points List who have earned at least the same number of Race to Dubai Ranking Points as the last member that qualifies from the above criteria.

DP World Tour Championship

• The leading available 50 members from the 2024 Race to Dubai Rankings at the conclusion of the Abu Dhabi Championship.

• A maximum of the leading available ten players from the Non-Member Race to Dubai Points List who have earned at least the same number of Race to Dubai Ranking Points as the last member that qualifies from the above criteria.