A week after Rory McIlroy kicked off his PGA Tour season, his protege, Tom McKibbin, began his journey with LIV Golf. The two long-time friends parted ways after the Grand Slam champion wasn’t able to convince the young pro to keep his membership. Against McIlroy’s advice, McKibbin opted to join Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII GC, ending his PGA Tour story even before it started. Back then, he received a lot of heat for going against his mentor’s advice, but the 22-year-old was confident about his decision. Now we’re in the week of the last major of the year, and a new chapter in McIlroy and McKibbin’s story has been revealed.

Former winner of The Open, Darren Clarke, shared a post on Instagram showing himself completing a practice round a day before tee-off. It featured both Rory and Tom with a caption, “Enjoyable morning with the boys. The course is in fantastic shape.” The pictures showed McIlroy sharing a smile with his protege as all three individuals caught up with each other after sharing the course.

And judging by their interaction, it seems no love is lost between the two. Despite all the heat he faced for not taking McIlroy’s advice, McKibbin’s dynamic with him still seems great. That works well for him at Royal Portrush as he will get some valuable tips from his mentor, who has won on a Royal course in the past. He will also get a lot of guidance from his experienced teammates like Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.

For months, there wasn’t much dialogue between the sides. McIlroy continued on his journey and became a Grand Slam champion at ANGC. McKibbin showed moments of brilliance in LIV Golf. He is the second-highest ranked player from Legion XIII on the individual leaderboard behind Rahm. That’s quite a feat considering the incredible teammates he has in Tyrrell Hatton and Caleb Surratt. The young Irishman is definitely finding success at an early age, just like his mentor did, even if he’s not doing so on the PGA Tour.

Having said that, did you know this will be Tom McKibbin’s second appearance in The Open? Learn how he fared against his mentor, Rory McIlroy, in his first attempt.

Rory McIlroy and Tom McKibbin: Looking back at Royal Troon in 2024

Tom McKibbin made his debut in The Open back in 2024. It was the second major of his career, and he had just come off a T41 finish in the U.S. Open earlier in the season. He shot 3-over 144 in two rounds to make it through the cut. However, the cruel fairways of the Royal Troon proved to be too tough for the 22-year-old over the weekend. He could only find bogeys and worse, and managed only a few birdies to save face. In the end, McKibbin ended up with a 12-over 296. Speaking of his performance, the young golfer said, “I didn’t play great at all really, especially the back nine, it’s obviously the harder nine, but yeah, a few loose shots.” He was certainly disappointed with what he ended up with.

However, Tom would still be proud of bettering his mentor in the major. Rory McIlroy missed the cut after an 11-over. He could barely find any rhythm and struggled throughout the 36 holes before finally ending the tournament early. This came as a huge surprise, as just a week prior to the event, McIlroy had finished T4 in the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open. With a runner-up finish in the Scottish event this time around, can the 29-time PGA Tour champion change his fate in his home country in 2025? Or will his protégé outplay him once again at Royal Portrush? Only time will tell.