Tom McKibbin, the golfer who ignored Rory McIlroy’s advice, may have to take a financial hit to keep his Ryder Cup hopes alive as LIV Golf prepares to turn off the taps
Mark Whiley Sports Reporter
12:48, 25 Jul 2025
Tom McKibbin has been dealt a fresh blow after his missing the cut at The Open(Image: Stuart Kerr/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Tom McKibbin’s future Ryder Cup hopes have been plunged into doubt after LIV Golf decided to stop paying his fines.
The Northern Irish star shocked the golfing world by defecting to the Saudi-backed rebel tour earlier this year. As a result, he sacrificed his recently won PGA Tour card and ignored the advice of Rory McIlroy, who said joining LIV was “not worth the sacrifice”.
McKibbin, who has banked more than £3.5million on LIV already, remained a member of the DP World Tour, which kept him eligible for the European Ryder Cup team. But in keeping with the European tour’s regulations, his LIV membership has resulted in fines, which his Saudi paymasters were taking care of.
However, that is set to change in 2026, with LIV no longer paying the fines of players still attached to the DP World Tour, reports The Telegraph. That is a fresh blow to McKibbin, who disappointingly failed to make the cut at the recent Open Championship at Portrush.
The report adds that, to date, LIV has paid off around £15m in players’ fines, with up to another £10m outstanding. From next year, players will have to pay their own fines if they wish to retain their DP World Tour membership.
As it stands, failure to do so would see them kicked off the tour and barred from the Ryder Cup, which could have a detrimental effect on the strength of future European teams. After September’s tournament at Bethpage Black in New York, the 2027 event will be held at Adare Manor in County Limerick.
McKibbin is part of the Legion XIII team on LIV with Caleb Surratt, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton(Image: Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
LIV players Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have all appealed against the monetary sanctions handed down for competing on the breakaway tour without permission. The hearing will be held after the upcoming Ryder Cup.
It is widely expected to go in favour of the DP World Tour after Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood lost a similar appeal two years ago. An arbitration panel found in favour of the DP World Tour and ratified its right to enforce its regulations.
Three years after the controversial launch of LIV, most people golf expected peace to have been brokered by now. In 2023, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced they had signed a “framework agreement” aimed at ending the sport’s civil war.
McKibbin ignored Rory McIlroy’s advice by joining LIV Golf(Image: Brian Lawless/PA Wire)
However, two years on, talks over reuniting the game remain deadlocked. The impasse potentially leaves the talented McKibbin, currently 56th in the DP Tour rankings, with a dilemma: Stick with LIV and hope for peace or pay his DP World Tour fines out of his own pocket.
McKibbin rang McIlroy for advice about the lucrative switch to LIV. McIlroy said: “There is so much money in the game and some would argue too much money in the game for the eyeballs that we attract. For whatever the benefit may be, I don’t think it’s worth the sacrifice to what he’s potentially going to give up.”