After finishing as an also-ran in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, PGA Tour-bound McKibbin (21) made four birdies and a bogey to share 19th place at sweltering Leopard Creek.
He was just five shots behind England’s Andy Sullivan, who overcame 40-degree heat to card a bogey-free 64 and lead by a shot from South Africa’s Casey Jarvis, England’s Alex Fitzpatrick and Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult.
Conor Purcell shot a rusty 75 in his first start as a full DP World Tour cardholder.
But Kilkenny’s Mark Power (24) fired a five-under 66 to survive the first-round cut in the LIV Golf Promotions Event in Saudi Arabia and keep his dream alive of making it into golf’s big-time.
Only the top 20 at Riyadh Golf Club qualified for today’s second round on four-under or better and Power was the only Irishman to make it as he chases a dream spot on a lucrative LIV Golf team that’s up for grabs in the 72-hole event.
“It would be incredible, life-changing, you could nearly say,” said Power, who holed a 160-yard approach for an eagle two at the 13th to get to four-under before picking up another shot at the 15th.
“But there is still a lot of golf left, so I’ll just take it one step at a time.”
Power was one of 21 golfers to join 28 exempt players in today’s second round, but with the scores reset, he must finish in the top 20 again today to qualify for tomorrow’s 36-hole shootout.
The 72-hole winner gets a spot on a LIV Golf team, but with the top 10 exempt into the Asian Tour’s International Series, Power has lots to play for.
“Yeah, I suppose we’re completely resetting, so I have just to understand that today’s round is behind me and I have to do more of the same tomorrow,” said Power, whose 66 was joint seventh, just two shots behind Jeunghun Wang.
Malone amateur Matt McClean failed to progress by just one shot despite carding a three-under 68, while Alex Maguire and Liam Nolan shot one-under 70s and Max Kennedy a 72 to miss out.
In Morocco, Elm Park’s Anna Foster was “relieved” and delighted to qualify for next week’s final stage of the Ladies European Tour’s Lalla Aicha Q School.
“Definitely, very relieved to be done,” said Foster (21), who shot a bogey-free, six-under 66 to finish as the joint winner on six under at Palm Golf Ourika.
She was one of four Irish players among the 101 golfers from four 54-hole pre-qualifiers in Marrakech.
“This week was stressful, but today I got off to a nice start,” she said. “I was able to make a few birdies early and kept the momentum going into the back nine.”
Annabel Wilson tied for 10th at Samanah, while Olivia Mehaffey made it comfortably in tied 14th at Noria Golf Club, where reigning AIG Irish Women’s Close champion Canice Screene qualified on the mark to join Sara Byrne at next week’s five-round Final Stage.
There was also good news for the Irish in the 72-hole pre-qualifiers for next week’s Asian Tour Q-School Final Stage in Thailand.
Paul Dunne and Niall Kearney were inside the qualifying places at their venues heading into today’s final rounds, with Kevin Phelan just a shot outside.
Meanwhile, transgender athletes assigned male at birth or those who have experienced male puberty cannot enter the R&A’s female professional and elite amateur championships from 2025.
The R&A made its decision after consulting “medical and scientific experts” and evidence that “male puberty confers a performance advantage”.
