Porsche European Open: Tom McKibbin, a 20-year-old from Northern Ireland, maintained his composure to win the Porsche European Open on Sunday and claim his maiden DP World Tour victory.
In Hamburg, McKibbin scored a final-round 70 to finish nine under par, two strokes better than local favourites Marcel Siem, Max Kieffer, and Julien Guerrier of France.
The 20-year-old started the day in a six-way tie for the lead but made birdies on holes 4, 7, and 9 to go two strokes ahead. He learnt the game at the same club as four-time major champion Rory McIlroy.
After Kieffer’s birdie on the 16th and bogeys on the 11th and 13th, the pair was tied for first place. However, McKibbin took the lead back with a birdie on the 15th and set up another with a calm second shot from 203 yards on the par-five 18th.
“It’s pretty amazing,” said McKibbin, who graduated from the Challenge Tour last year and was making only his 26th start on the DP World Tour.
“Going out there and putting together a very, really great round was fantastic. I’ve always believed I could win, so having the opportunity to do it today was very amazing.
“I’ve gained a lot of knowledge via mistakes, narrowly missing cuts, and barely missing things, so it was good to use what I’ve learned today.
“It probably won’t set in until tomorrow, but it’s really nice to have my dad here – he visits most weeks. It’s fantastic to triumph in his presence.”
In response to a question on his second shot to the 18th hole, McKibbin added: “It was definitely one of my greatest shots.
“It was both somewhat difficult and not. I tried to hit it exactly at the edge of the green so that if it rolled over, the water wouldn’t have been in play since it would have gone further.
“I’m sure it looked great on camera, but I thought it was a simpler shot than lying down and hitting the water.”
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