Three weeks after a solo fourth finish at the Open de España in Madrid, Tom McKibbin showed no signs of slowing day and stormed into the early lead at the Asian Tour’s Hong Kong Open in record-setting fashion.
Though Patrick Reed shot a 59 at Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling on his way to victory last year, with preferred lies in place, the 2018 Masters champion’s score didn’t officially count for course-record purposes, so McKIbbin is now the proud holder of the new record.
Starting on the par-3 11th hole – the first and the 11th are the starting holes in the two-tee split at Hong Kong GV – the Holywood man birdied 12 and 13, then reeled off three more on 15, 16 and 17 to get to five-under through seven.
Another birdie on the par-3 second hole got him to -6, but it was an eagle on the third which put ’59 watch’ very much on the radar. Four pars followed and the magical number looked out of reach, but another birdie on the par-3 eighth kept the hopes alive as he moved to nine-under with two to play on the par-70 layout.
Ultimately, he came up one shy, needing to hole out from the fairway for eagle on the par-4 10th, but a closing birdie was enough to give him sole possession of the lead at 10-under and complete his lowest ever round as a professional. But he admitted that he hadn’t been aware that the 59 was on until he was standing on the final tee.
“No, I looked at the scorecard after 17 holes and saw it was a par 70,” he said, “so I knew I had to eagle the last so maybe that helped.. But yes, 60 is the lowest round that I have ever shot – 62 has been my best before. So it was nice to break that. It’s fantastic.”
As well as a second professional victory, McKibbin is chasing major championship berths in Hong Kong with the tournament winner gaining entry to the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and the Masters at Augusta National.
There is a long way to go yet, but the 22-year-old has played in two Open Championships, a U.S. Open and the PGA Championship, but has yet to make the trip down Magnolia Lane in April and, with LIV events still not receiving world rankings points, this could prove to be his best opportunity to gain entry to the next staging at Augusta National.
“For these events to have those spots up for grabs, they definitely motivate you to go out and play well, knowing what’s sort of on the table come the end of the week,” he told bunkered.co.uk.
“I came in with the mindset to aim at every flag and hope for the best. Obviously that worked today. Whether or not I keep deciding to do that, we’ll see, but maybe I just keep on that mentality and just go for it.”
Despite his record-setting round, McKibbin’s lead is a slender one with Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond shooting a nine-under 61 to move into second, and another Thai in Kiradech Aphibarnrat in third one shot further adrift.
Graeme McDowell lies tied for 83rd after trading three birdies and two bogeys in a one-under 69, while Reed, the defending champion, sits in a share of 20th after an opening five-under 65.
FULL SCORING
