Tom McKibbin’s dominant victory Sunday at the Link Hong Kong Open came with added prizes: spots in the 2026 Masters and 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
McKibbin began the final round at Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling leading by just a shot over M.J. Maguire, the journeyman pro who played his college golf at North Florida. McKibbin, who committed to Florida before instead turning pro and later joining LIV Golf last year, birdied five of his first seven holes on the back nine to pull away. Though he bogeyed his last, McKibbin still fired 7-under 63 to finish at 27 under, a whopping seven strokes clear of fellow LIV member Peter Uihlein.
Next year’s Open start will be the 22-year-old McKibbin’s third appearance. He missed the cut this past summer at Royal Portrush and was T-66 in his debut in 2024 at Royal Troon. McKibbin has also logged starts in a U.S. Open (T-41, 2024) and PGA Championship (T-50, 2025). He’s never played in a Masters.
This is McKibbin’s third professional win, following victories at the 2023 Porsche European Open on the DP World Tour and a 2022 Minor League Golf Tour event, which came by a shot over PGA Tour player Eric Cole.
Maguire, with a closing 70, slipped to 19 under, where he tied for third with Louis Oosthuizen and Tomoyo Ikemura. Wenyi Ding, who turned pro early out of Arizona State last fall, tied for sixth with Matt Jones and Scott Hend.
The Hong Kong Open was the third of 15 Open Qualifying Series events for the 2026 Open. Marco Penge (Spanish Open) and Naoyuki Kataoka (Japan Open) previously qualified.
The next Open Qualifying Series event is the Australian Open, set for Dec. 4-7.