Tom McKibbin joined the list of 12 LIV golfers who have already secured their spots to play at the Masters 2026. The Northern Irish golfer won his first Asian Tour event at the 2025 Link Hong Kong Open, and with that, he secured his spots for two major championships in 2026, the Masters and The Open Championship.

LIV golfers usually struggle to qualify for the majors through the rankings, considering they do not receive ranking points. However, some players still manage to qualify through different criteria.

Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Open in 2024, which earned him an exemption to play in the Augusta National event for five years. Sergio García is a defending champion and holds a lifetime exemption to play at the Masters, along with Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, and Bubba Watson.

In addition to these former Masters winners, Cameron Smith is scheduled to play at the Masters 2026 as he won The Open in 2022, which earned him a five-year exemption. Other LIV golfers eligible for the Major are Carlos Ortiz, Brooks Koepka, and Tyrrell Hatton.

Tom McKibbin, however, is looking forward to making his debut at the Masters. He has played in majors in the past, but not at the Augusta National. In the last few years, he competed at the U.S. Open in 2024 and settled for a T41 place. Last year, he also competed at The Open Championship and tied for 66th place.

This season, Tom McKibbin had played in two majors, the PGA Championship and The Open Championship, where he struggled to make the cut. He was, however, tied for 50th at the PGA Championship.

Tom McKibbin shares his excitement to play in the majors

After his remarkable victory at the Link Hong Kong Open 2025, Tom McKibbin spoke about his performance and also shared his excitement to play in the majors. The 22-year-old is looking forward to playing at The Open for the third time in his career.

“Very excited to go back and play my third Open, it will be very, very cool,” he said (via Golf.com). “And to have that drive down Magnolia Lane for the first time ever, it will be even more special. You know, I think sort of historic tournaments like this deserve those spots, and yeah, it’s great to sort of take advantage of those.”

Tom McKibbin had an impressive season on LIV Golf in 2025, playing for Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII. He had some decent finishes on the Saudi league, which include T7 in Adelaide, T5 in Dallas, and T11 in the United Kingdom.

With his victory at the Asian Tour event, he also made a significant jump in the Official World Golf Ranking and settled at 85th place.