Tom McKibbin rips up record books as he romps to Link Hong Kong Open victory
Northern Irishman sets new mark for lowest total and matches biggest winning margin in wire-to-wire triumph
Tom McKibbin romped to a wire-to-wire victory in the Link Hong Kong Open on Sunday, and ripped up the record books in the process.
The Northern Irishman’s winning total of 27-under-par was the lowest in the tournament’s history, five better than Patrick Reed last year, with Ian Poulter and Jose Maria Olazabal also reaching 22 under when they won in 2010 and 2001, respectively.
And the seven-shot gap between McKibbin and Peter Uihlein, who was second, equalled the largest margin of victory ever over the Hong Kong Golf Club’s composite course, matching Bernhard Langer’s triumph in 1991 and Bill Brask’s in 1984.
“It was obviously amazing,” McKibbin said of his final round 63. “I played some of the best golf I’ve ever played, so to have that sort of golf and shoot those scores around here is pretty special.
“It means a lot [to have the record], with a tournament with so much history behind it and the great players that have won this tournament, having the scoring record is pretty special and something that will definitely live with me forever.”
Uihlein was two shots adrift of McKibbin early on, and any hopes he had of overhauling the leader disappeared in a quadruple bogey eight on the par-4 14th, and the American ended the day on 20 under.