Ryder Cup hopeful misses £400k payday after LIV signing
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Had Tom McKibbin signed his LIV Golf contract before the end of the year, the 32-year-old from Bath would have taken up membership on the PGA Tour this season and banked a minimum $500,000.
Instead, he is plotting another year on the DP World Tour and dreaming about the prospect of securing a Ryder Cup place from the home comforts of his longtime European domain.
Golf’s propensity to come down to fine margins never ceases to amaze.
It all started two months ago here in Dubai, when McKibbin dramatically beat Smith to the final PGA Tour spot offered by the DP World Tour’s much-criticised ‘Ten Card Initiative.’
But it has since emerged that the Northern Irish youngster will forsake those US privileges for a move to the Saudi-backed LIV tour – a move Rory McIlroy advised him against.
And brutally for Smith, the PGA Tour’s deadline to confirm membership was December 31, which means it was too late for LIV-bound McKibbin to hand his spot over to the next available player.
Smith will therefore not be exempt for any PGA Tour events, or the $500,000 sum players on the US circuit are guaranteed throughout the season.
Such a prickly issue could have easily been the elephant in the room at last month’s Team Cup – the Ryder Cup warm-up event that saw McKibbin and Smith compete on the same winning Great Britain and Ireland side in Abu Dhabi.
But to Smith’s credit, he has stayed incredibly diplomatic about his misfortune.
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“It was bad timing with the Team Cup,” the Englishman told bunkered.co.uk ahead of this week’s Dubai Desert Classic. “But I didn’t have a card and now I don’t have a card.
“It hasn’t changed anything for me. I didn’t earn a card. Tom’s got to look after himself and do what he thinks is best to him. It’s all down to him. He’s taking that opportunity and thinks it’s the right path for him. There’s nothing against one another. We were sat down having dinner last week. I’d have been happy enough to play with him.”
Smith is certainly not one to dwell after his near miss in November. He is among the heavy favourites to belatedly earn his spot Stateside this season and – after collecting 2.5 points from four in an impressive Team Cup performance – is an outside contender for Luke Donald’s European side.
“As soon as it happened I was really gutted,” he admitted. “It was one of my goals to get one of those cards. As the weeks passed, we knew the schedule for the coming year so we just concentrate on that and looking to try and get one this year.
“The timing of (McKibbin’s move) wasn’t great, with it being so close to the membership deadline but it’s just one of those things you’ve got to take on the chin and move on.
“The Ryder Cup is the main goal and getting one of those ten cards is the other goal this year. They’re the only two things I’m worried about. I’m feeling good about my game and I think I can do both.”
