Young PGA Tour star Tom McKibbin could be heading to LIV Golf months after receiving a telling congratulations from his compatriot Rory McIlroy.

The Northern Irish prodigy McKibbin first turned heads in the summer of 2023 when he won on the DP World Tour in Hamburg. He further proved his potential in November when he secured a PGA Tour card for the 2025 season and seemed poised to join his compatriot and mentor.

Rory McIlroy’s feelings have been made clear (Image: Getty Images)

However, it now seems that the youngster could go against the best wishes of McIlroy, whose initial ‘hatred’ of LIV has since softened, by aligning with another of Europe’s Ryder Cup titans, Jon Rahm, just months after his countryman put aside celebrations for his $6.2million Race to Dubai win to praise McKibbin.

According to Ten Golf, the 22-year-old world No.110 is strongly rumored to join Rahm’s Legion XIII team, which includes other members like Tyrell Hatton and Caleb Surratt. This comes after McIlroy paused his DP World Tour Championship win to go over and congratulate McKibbin – who had just secured a PGA Tour card for the first time.

Reports suggest that Rahm, who McKibbin could join, was persuaded to leave the PGA Tour in 2024 for a lucrative $476m contract – the largest in the history of the fledgling competition. This decision drew considerable criticism from a divided golfing world, including from McIlroy, who initially ‘hoped the competition would go away’ when first addressing the topic in 2022.

Yet, now, it appears that McKibbin, who has flourished alongside his countryman McIlroy, could be switching sides to the rival platform.

McIlroy congratulated McKibbin instead of celebrating himself ( Image: Sky Sports)

“When I was walking off the last, I didn’t see his name and I see him before I signed my card and he was congratulating me, and I didn’t want to ask – I said, ‘Yay or nay? ‘ And he said, ‘Yes,'” McIlroy shared in 2024.

“I’m happy for him,” he added. “That was a massive goal for him was to get one of those ten cards and go play in America. Super happy for him.”

The bond between the two, who are both members of Holywood GC, is evident, with McIlroy acknowledging McKibbin’s talent and his own role in helping the youngster develop his game.

“I’ve known Tom since he was 10 years old,” McIlroy also expressed in 2023, pleased after McKibbin’s European Open victory. “And to see his progression and see where he is today and get that first win in Europe is, was really cool to see.

“Yeah, look, he’s been, we’ve all known from back home the potential that he has, but I think to break through and win for the first time at 20 years old is, there’s a bright future ahead of him.”

Despite this, with McKibbin now likely to join the lucrative LIV Golf, he may be leaving McIlroy and the US behind. If McKibbin makes the switch, his first appearance would be at the start of the LIV Golf season on February 6 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, even though the 22-year-old had previously admitted he was “excited” to play stateside.