AMGEN IRISH OPEN

September 13, 2024

Tom McKibbin

Royal County Down GC

Quick Quotes

Q. Pleased to be here for the weekend?

TOM McKIBBIN: Yeah, that was a lovely putt there on the last. Reminded me a little bit of the putt that I held at the U.S. Open, actually. But to shoot an under-par round today, very happy and hopefully continue on for the weekend.

Q. Conditions much better than yesterday, but the wind doesn't really have to blow here that hard, does it, to make it a very difficult test?

TOM McKIBBIN: Obviously we got quite nice conditions there today. The course definitely played a lot easier but saying that, if you're still not on your game, the golf course is so hard. It really just can eat you up very quickly and it's very stressful.

Q. You've practised and played with Rory McIlroy a lot, but I think I'm right in saying this is the first time you've played alongside him competitively. What was that experience like for you?

TOM McKIBBIN: Yeah, it was awesome. As you said, first time competitively, I've been very lucky to play with him a lot sort of casually.

But yeah, these last two days were pretty cool. I've been coming to this tournament since I've been nine or ten years old and watching Rory and seeing those crowds, and then get to play in them with him was pretty cool. It's probably definitely the highlight of my year so far.

Q. With the weather expected to be a lot tougher over the weekend, you're still very much in the mix in this tournament. You're not that far back.

TOM McKIBBIN: Yeah, absolutely. I think the scores are still bunched. A couple of good rounds, you can definitely shoot yourself up the leaderboard. If I can maybe try and first name the tournament under par, I would be pretty happy.

Q. Always nice to end with a birdie. How would you reflect on that round overall?

TOM McKIBBIN: Pretty solid round of golf. A lot of scrambling. To shoot a couple under with what I don't feel is my best stuff is pretty nice.

Q. Links golf depends on conditions, and conditions more favourable than yesterday.

TOM McKIBBIN: Yeah, definitely. Not much wind or anything. The only thing that made it hard was the cold this morning. A lot easier today but saying that, the course is so hard that if you're not quite on, it can really eat you up and punish you big time. So yeah, just happy to be in the clubhouse now.

Q. What's the 36-hole experience of playing with Rory McIlroy been like?

TOM McKIBBIN: It's been awesome. Yeah, I mean, it's been a highlight of my year so far. I've been watching this tournament for so long, and seeing these crowds, it's pretty cool to play in it.

Q. Heading into the weekend full of optimism?

TOM McKIBBIN: Yeah, I feel like if I can tidy up some things, some iron shots, and try to get a couple more under-par rounds, I'll be pretty happy.