Tom McKibbin and amateur Ding Wenyi on top at weather-affected Singapore Classic

Golf Digest Middle East — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 12:14:22 +0000

Tom McKibbin and Chinese amateur Ding Wenyi were tied at the top of the leaderboard when the weather-affected second round of the 2023 Singapore Classic was suspended due to fading light on Friday evening.

First-round leader McKibbin, who hails from the same Holywood Golf Club in Northern Ireland as Rory McIlroy, had mixed five birdies with two bogeys on day two before play had to be halted for an hour due to flooded greens as he played the 18th.

When the action resumed at 6.20pm local time, the Northern Irishman closed his round with a par to sign for a 69 and head into the weekend on 11-under.

He was soon joined at the summit by 18-year-old Ding, who carded two eagles, two birdies and a bogey in his first 14 holes before the daylight ran out.

Ding will return to complete his second round at 8.15am local time on Saturday morning.

German Marcel Schneider and England’s Andy Sullivan were the co-leaders’ nearest challengers on 10-under.

McKibbin, who had posted a flawless 64 in round one, opened his birdie account on the par-five third on Friday and then produced a shot-of-the-day contender from the rough at the fifth to set up a close-range birdie.

He made it two birdies in a row on the sixth before rolling in his putt from around 12 feet at the eighth to move to 12 under and open up a two-shot lead.

After going agonisingly close to notching a birdie at the tenth, as his lengthy putt hit the hole but did not fall below ground, McKibbin dropped his first shot of the week at the short 11th.

A good par save followed on the 12th but he could not keep another bogey off the card at the 13th and surrendered the outright lead.

But he bounced back with a birdie from 10 feet at the 14th to regain the solo lead before creating outside birdie chances at the next two holes, having to settle for par on both occasions.

With heavy rain arriving at Laguna National Golf Resort Club, McKibbin did well to save par at the short 17th and after an hour-long suspension, the European Challenge Tour graduate returned to safely par the last.

He said: “I played very nicely most of the day, especially the front nine. A little bit colder on the back, overall a pretty good day.

“I just hoped we would finish it off. I didn’t fancy coming back early in the morning to hit three shots, very happy we managed it.

“I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully go out and play some of my own golf, concentrate well and see how it goes.”

Ding recovered from a dropped shot at the second with an eagle on the par-four fifth before birdieing the sixth to turn in 33.

Another eagle at the 10th — also a par four — catapulted the talented amateur into contention, and after returning from the hour-long suspension he made a birdie at the 13th to join McKibbin at the summit.

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McKibbin targeting No. 1 spot in Mallorca at Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 07:03:45 +0000

By GolfDigestME.com
Tom McKibbin will look to become the youngest Road to Mallorca No. 1 in history when he tees it up in the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final at Club de Golf Alcanada this week.

The Grand Final is the 28th and final event on the Road to Mallorca, a season which has featured 16 different countries, where the top 45 players on the Rankings will battle it out for one of the 20 coveted DP World Tour cards.

The 19-year-old McKibbin is currently placed 15th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings and he would move to the No. 1 spot should he triumph at the season finale and current Rankings leader Jeremy Freiburghaus finishes no higher than fourth, while JC Ritchie, Alexander Knappe and Mikael Lindberg would also have to finish no higher than third.

Englishman Tommy Fleetwood became the youngest Challenge Tour No. 1 when he topped the Rankings in 2011 at just 20 years old after finishing second at the Challenge Tour Grand Final in Italy, and McKibbin now has the opportunity to write his name into the history books.

Freiburghaus will himself look to make history by becoming the first Swiss player to win the Rankings, while current No. 2 Ritchie would also become the first South African winner should he triumph this week.

Another piece of history could be made by Frenchman Clément Sordet, who is looking to become the first man to win this event on two separate occasions following his victory at the 2017 NBO Golf Classic Grand Final.

Any player in the 45-man field can mathematically graduate, with the likes of Ireland’s John Murphy (42nd) and Switzerland’s Benjamin Rusch (45th) requiring strong performances to break into the all-important top 20.

The 27th edition of the Grand Final, which has been the season-ending event since 1995, will be broadcast live around the world for the first time in the Tour’s history.

“I’m just going to focus on my own game and hopefully I can produce some solid golf and everything else will take care of itself,” said McKibbin. “If I play the same way I have all season I’m confident I can get the job done and secure my DP World Tour card.

“I’m focused on securing my card but obviously it would be fantastic to win the tournament because I know I still have a chance to win the Rankings.

“My game has developed so much this year. The courses have been fantastic, and the fields have been so strong that I have naturally had to up my game and make my misses a lot smaller because any mistakes get punished out here on the Challenge Tour. I’ve definitely grown as both a player and a person this year.

“The course is lovely this week and I think it will be a good test of golf. It looks generous off the tee but once you get up there you realise how narrow the fairways are and if you miss the fairway, the rough can be quite thick which means the ball sits right down.

“It’ll be great to have my family with me this week. They don’t get to see me play that much so hopefully I can put on a show for them.”

The post McKibbin targeting No. 1 spot in Mallorca at Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Tom McKibbin Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Tom McKibbin and amateur Ding Wenyi on top at weather-affected Singapore Classic

McKibbin targeting No. 1 spot in Mallorca at Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final