Tom McKibbin receives the trophy at the award presentation and talks to media at the post match press conferences.
Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland wins by -27 udner Par, R1:60, R2:65, R3:65, R4:63, Score: 253) in the final round of the Link Hong Kong Open at Hong Kong Golf Club on November 2, 2025 in Hong Kong, China.
#sportsactionhk #themasters #asiantour #hkgolfopen #internationalseries #golf
I’ll be waiting for so long, please present the trophy to our 2025 link on the open champion, Tom Mc. Um, obviously very excited. Um, you know, it was a it was a great great week here in um Hong Kong and um yeah, a lot of a lot of good golf played. So, um yeah, very very happy with this. I can feel Yeah. Um it feels it feels pretty special. Um I remember watching him I think 14 years ago um pull out from the bunker there at the at the front of the green. So um to add my list to beside his name on the trophy um yeah means a lot. Congratulations your game. Yeah. Um yeah, as you say, one one ahead at the start of the day and then I think um I was maybe only one or two ahead at after nine. Um and then all of a sudden it just uh became this this massive lead. Um so yeah, obviously thrilled to to get that far ahead, but it was definitely a little bit uh odd those last three or four holes sort of being so far in front and um obviously trying not to make uh any mistakes here. Yeah, it it felt uh it felt very good. You know, my my iron play all week had been had been very impressive and um yeah, my my putter stayed stayed relatively hot all all week. So, um yeah, I just wasn’t really making too many mistakes or or missing um any greens really. Yeah. And so, why? No, not not not that I can remember. Maybe when I was about 10, but not not not that I know. Um I just keep pick as well. Yeah. Um yeah, again I don’t don’t think I’ve ever had that little um drop shots. Um obviously very just sort of shows how how sort of solid I played and um how how good sort of my iron play was. I don’t think I missed many greens over the the course of the four days. So, um, yeah, everything was was very solid and, um, yeah, I think two of those bogeies were free putts. So, okay. Yeah, the course was um the course was amazing. I mean, the condition of it was uh was very very good. The greens were seemed very fast. Um, I don’t remember them being that that fast before. Um, so yeah, the the course was fantastic in fantastic shape and um, yeah, it was definitely tricky. you know, the rough sort of gave those flyer lies. It made you sort of question what you had to do if you missed the fairway. Um, and yeah, the greens were were absolutely perfect to put on the weekend. Um, yeah, probably probably a little bit. Um, I’ve played in the open twice before and um definitely wanted to get back there again this year. Um, and then obviously I’d never never played in the Masters, so to to have that up up um for grabs today and and going out there sort of trying to win the tournament and trying to to sort of seal that up. Um, so yeah, it’s uh it’s a great initiative. I think that that the Masters and and the RNA have have did and um I think a tournament with this sort of history deserves that. Um and yeah, it’s uh I’m looking forward to the experience. Yeah, it was it was great. As you say, my first um Asian Tour International Series event. Um yeah, and I was I was very impressed. You know, I the way it was ran and set up was um up there with with some of the best events I’ve played and um as you said, sort of playing with with new competition and people that I hadn’t played with um or played against before. Um so yeah, it was it was definitely great to to come and be a part of and I’m looking forward to playing many more um in the future. Um, I think a little bit of everything. I like the course from when I was here um in March. Uh, my game was obviously good, but I sort of came into the week with the the mindset of just going for everything, going to all the flags and sort of whatever result sort of came out of that at the end of the week. It didn’t really um it didn’t really bother me if I finished sort of down there or I sort of obviously with those spots up for grabs, it was win or or nothing. Um, so yeah, I think I sort of just adapted that sort of mindset and just played very aggressive. Yeah. Um, I think I’ve watched um them all for the last 15 years. So um yeah, I’ve had the the lows of the first one that Rory um did to us and then obviously last year. Um but yeah, I mean sitting there late at night sort of on Sunday, having to go to school on on Monday, um watching watching the years of of coverage and and the history behind that. So yeah, very very excited to to get there and and playing that. [Music] Yeah, definitely. I think um I think when I was deciding whether or not to to go over um to live and join live, it was obviously a a big factor. Um but as you said, I sort of just seem to to back myself and um just try and play the best golf I can and and sort of sort of see where that um leaves me. Um so yeah, very happy that that good golf sort of over this season. Um has sort of proved I played in I played in two majors last year and now hopefully two two again next year. So, um, yeah, definitely. I think if you can play good golf, it that takes sort of care of it and you can definitely still get into these big tournaments. [Music] Yeah. Um, I think first of all, first of all, I’m a far better um, golfer um, than I was then. Um, I think I’ve put myself in that position a little bit more over the last two years and it hasn’t um, went my way. And um as hard as those are at the time, it sort of you sort of just got to stay stay patient and um hopefully it it happens again. And that’s sort of the the mindset that that I took into into today. I I’d been playing nice and a couple of close calls recently. Um and yeah, just tried to play as free as possible. Um try and get a couple of the hard holes out of the way and um sort of try and shoot the lowest score and take it one shot at a time and and see where that ended up at the end of the day. Who’s the uh who’s the first person getting a phone call or a text? Getting a phone call or a text? Uh I don’t know. I know my mom’s on a flight to Dubai. Um so it would be her, but she’s flying so I’m not sure. Uh I think Pete sort of had an unfortunate uh 14th, I think. Um I think that let me go. I buried it. So I think I went six six or seven ahead then. Um and I sort of thought it would be awfully embarrassing to lose it from from here. So um sort of from there trying to play a little bit cautiously coming in but um yeah it’s a it’s a weird sort of situation to be in cuz you don’t want to get ahead of yourself and you sort of know you have to play really poorly to to screw it up from there. So um yeah from about 15 in uh yeah I I don’t know. I don’t really have um any expectations at the minute. I’m just uh super excited, you know, to be a part of that and and play play that tournament. Um yeah, it’s for for the first time it’s going to be very very special and um yeah, extremely um I think once I hit the T- shot on 16, I was sort of able to relax a little bit. It’s a it’s a tricky enough T-OT. um sort of got to hit a hard fade with the freewood. Um so once I got that out of the way, I was sort of happy enough. 17 you’re only sort of hitting a 4 iron down the fairway and and 18’s an iron off the two. So I sort of knew I had to do something extremely extremely bad to mess it up from from the 16 fairway. Yeah, it’s it’s amazing. you know, he he travels to pretty much um every event that I play and and to have his support since since I’ve started and um yeah, it’s it’s great to sort of share this this moment with him. He was he was with me for the last one that I won. So, um so yeah, it’s great to have him.
