<p>Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland plays a stroke from the No. 4 tee during the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 10, 2026.</p>
Tom McKibbin left Augusta National with two stunning shots in his memory bank and a burning desire to make his second Masters appearance as soon as possible.
Five-over after five holes and with his hopes of making the weekend all but gone after a devastating bogey, double-bogey start, the young Holywood star (23) regrouped impressively to play his last 13 holes in one-under-par.
He added a 76 to his opening 75, three-putting four times on Augusta’s marble staircase greens to finish outside the projected cut on seven-over.
It wasn’t the dream debut he had in mind, but with his first Masters out of the way, he was focusing on the great shots he hit and plotting his return.
“I don't know. A bit annoying. Fun,” the LIV Golf man said of his week. “Yeah, it was a bit of everything. Probably a little bit of every emotion.”
He admitted on Thursday that he was surprised how fast the greens had become compared to the practice days, and that proved the difference between making the weekend and missing out.
In terms of ball-striking, he hit 89 per cent of his fairways (ranked fourth in the field) and 69 per cent of the greens (16th), which are figures that Rory McIlroy would love to emulate.
“Two good shots into the first and then a three-putt, which was frustrating,” he said of his start. “And then a great tee shot on two, and then (my second) just came out really low off the lie and caught the tree (and went into a bush).
“Not a great start. Three-over after two is not ideal with the rest of the course still to play. But, I played the last 13 holes really nice and coming in, I hit a few really nice shots, especially on 17, and got a little bit unlucky there.
“Overall, I hit a lot of good shots. A couple of too many putts. The second is probably the only really bad, bad shot that really cost me.”
His approach to the 17th was followed by another frustrating two-putt, but he hit other shots that told him that he’s got the game for Augusta.
Blocked out by a magnolia at the 10th after a poor tee shot to the far right of the fairway, he cut a world-class, 200-yard five-iron around it to 20 feet.
It was the shot of a young master and after again playing well through Amen Corner, he cut another beauty around a tree to 20 feet at the par-five 15th to set up a birdie.
“It was nice to pull off one iconic shot that I had watched on TV,” he said of his 243-yard seven-wood. “That was nice. Then I hit another really good shot into ten, which is enjoyable as well.”
It was the greens that flummoxed him.
“I knew maybe what they would do slope-wise, but speed-wise, they were so quick,” he said. “Then, uphill, they are still quite slow.
“Going out this morning, again, you think they're going to be super quick, but that little bit of dew and stuff, it's like a little bit of guesswork on the greens.”
For the record, McKibbin bogeyed the fourth and fifth but he birdied the eighth and 15th before three-putting the 16th from 50 feet above the hole.
“I mean, it was silly of me to leave it up there,” he said.
The importance of experience was his big takeaway from his week and it’s clear he can’t wait to return.
“It's probably the first time I've come to a place and sort of felt that I’ll try to not miss it again,” he said. “It's definitely the best golf tournament that I've ever played. Yeah, it would be good to come back.”
Article Link: McKibbin eyes Masters return after ‘annoying’ but fun debut - News - Irish Golf Desk