Graeme McDowell and Tom McKibbin will hope to lock in major championship starts for next year at the Link Hong Kong Open this week.
The stakes are high at Fanling Golf Club which is most likely why 31 LIV Golfers are in the field for the Asian Tour event as the winner will earn exemptions into the 2026 Masters and Open Championship.
McDowell and McKibbin will be joined by defending champion Patrick Reed, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Talor Gooch among others.
Both Northern Irishmen will be looking to secure their first tour victories of the season and join 2011 champion Rory McIlroy on the roll of honour.
McDowell, who was drawn alongside Peter Uihlein and Richard Bland for the opening 36 holes, won the 2010 US Open but hasn’t competed in a major since the 2020 Masters that November.
Missing out on a homecoming Open in Royal Portrush last summer was a bitter pill to swallow and rather than have to go through qualifying again for Royal Birkdale next year he is eager to seize the opportunity and win for the first time since 2020.
“Would be amazing to win,” McDowell said. “I played the Masters in 2020, that was the last time I played a major. Obviously, I love what I’m doing; I love the LIV Golf schedule but I do miss the big tournaments. I miss the majors, I miss the access to those and obviously it’s an amazing prize.
“There has been some great champions at Fanling and it is a golf course that I believe I can play well on, and have played well in the past there. So clearly I’ll be going there next week ready to go and obviously I will be highly motivated.”
McKibbin meanwhile, has been grouped with Wade Ormsby and Charles Howell III as he looks to rubberstamp another excellent season with a victory.
The 22-year-old enjoyed a very solid maiden LIV Golf campaign, including winning four times with LEGION XIII and the Team Championship.
But what has been missing since the 2023 Porsche European Open on the DP World Tour is a win.
McKibbin has shown remarkable consistency in his DP World Tour starts which has seen him maintain his world ranking. Once a career high 97th, McKibbin is currently ranked 109th and could jump back into the world’s top-100 this week.
He recently finished fourth in Spain, 15th at the Dunhill, 11th at Wentworth and 20th at the Irish Open which has seen him rise from 153rd in the world.
According to Data Golf – a metric which does seem more accurate than the Official World Golf Rankings given that LIV players can’t earn ranking points – has McKibbin placed as the 53rd best player in the world, a much truer reflection of his abilities.
McKibbin missed his first cut in a major at the Open in July but had made all of his previous three. He has yet to make his debut at the Masters so a first worldwide victory in two years would go a long way.
There will be other opportunities for McKibbin to climb towards the top-50 in the world if he is not successful this week with the two DP World Tour playoff events to come next month.
