Tom McKibbin has revealed he is unfazed by comparisons to Rory McIlroy, after earning his DP World Tour card. McKibbin secured his Tour membership following a superb final round six-under-par 66 at the Challenge Tour Grand Final last weekend.
His performance in Mallorca capped off yet another impressive week for the 19-year-old, having secured his eighth top 10 finish of the campaign. In collecting his card, McKibbin has become the youngest Irishman to do so since McIlroy.
And after following in the footsteps of the world's top golfer, it seems the youngster is more than used to being compared to his Northern Irish compatriot.
Per the BBC, McKibbin said: "I don't bother with comparisons any more. I try and stay out of it, don't listen to any of that. Being compared [to Rory] is obviously a huge honour. I've heard it for so long, seven or eight years now, that it doesn't even faze me any more. I'm used to it.
Revealing he has been able to benefit from playing plenty of golf alongside McIlroy, the teenager added: "I've got to play a lot of golf with him and pick his brain. That has been a huge help."
Despite his young age, McKibbin has been impressing on the Challenge Tour for some time. And after finally securing his DP World Tour spot, the 19-year-old admitted it was a career milestone 'ticked off'.
He added: "It's been a goal of mine for a while and I've finally ticked that off. There has been expectation but I haven't put myself under any pressure. I've just tried to take every tournament as it comes and see how well I could do really.
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"When I started to play well in the summer that made me think and see how far up the rankings I could go. My game has elevated. You have to try and do well, finish high up every single week."
Revealing he will kick off his DP World Tour in just a few weeks, McKibbin went on: "I've been looking forward to this moment for a while, to have achieved it is pretty special. I'll sit down in the next few days and have a look at next season's calendar but I'll probably start in South Africa in a few weeks."
