Tom McKibbin To Play Full DP World Tour Schedule After Leaving LIV Golf

Tom McKibbin at the Irish Open — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Tom McKibbin is set to play a full schedule on the DP World Tour next season after becoming the latest player to announce his LIV Golf departure.

Ian Poulter's exit announcement was followed by Branden Grace saying he'd also be leaving LIV Golf, with Australian Lucas Herbert set to follow him through the door.

After Jon Rahm's earlier decision to leave, but also taking his Legion XIII trademark with him, it always seemed likely that his teammates would follow - and McKibbin is the first to do just that.

The 23-year-old Northern Irishman has called an end to his two-year stint on LIV Golf, and thanks to being inside the top 100 on the Race To Dubai he'll be able to play a full DP World Tour schedule for 2027.

McKibbin surprised many when he turned down the chance to take up the PGA Tour card he qualified for at the end of 2024 to instead join Rahm's Legion XIII on LIV Golf for the 2025 season.

Although he never managed to win an individual event, McKibbin banked over $11m thanks to plenty of team success with Legion XIII, while away from LIV he won the 2025 Hong Kong Open to earn a Masters debut this year.

He was one of eight golfers to sign DP World Tour conditional release deals earlier this year, which resulted in him playing seven further events on the European circuit and earning top-10 finishes at the British Masters, Irish Open and recent India Championship.

Those results put him safely inside the top 100 on the Race To Dubai, where he's projected to finish in 86th and retain his full playing card for 2027.

With that under his belt, plus the hardline stance taken by Guy Kinnings next year forcing a straight choice between LIV and the DP World Tour it always seemed a more sensible option.

Throw in the fact the Ryder Cup is in Ireland next year and all the incentives for McKibbin pointed towards a DP World Tour return - which is what he's decided on.

A bad day for LIV Golf with player exodus

The blows kept on coming on a bleak Friday for LIV Golf 2.0's hopes of getting off the ground, with all four players calling it quites having some star power about them.

Poulter is one of the biggest crowd pullers both in person and for marketing and online, while Grace for South Africa and Herbert for Australia represent two big home hopes from the two biggest events on the schedule.

McKibbin is a young gun LIV will have hoped would've matured in its ranks, but now the pressure is really on for CEO Scott O'Neil ahead of his 25 October deadline to get players signed up of sufficient quality to ensure the potential $300m investment deal with BC Partners goes ahead.

Bryson DeChambeau could still have the final say but we've heard nothing from him of late, and the deadline is closing in.

Tom McKibbin LIV statement

A post shared by Tom McKibbin :) (@tommckibbin)

"After two seasons with Legion XIII, I have decided not to sign with LIV Golf for its next chapter," McKibbin wrote on social media. "I will be playing a full schedule on the DP World Tour in 2027.

"Joining LIV Golf was the right decision for me at the time, and I'm grateful for everything it has given me.

"Playing alongside Jon, Tyrrell and Caleb taught me more than I could have imagined. Thank you to them, the team staff and everyone at LIV Golf for making me feel at home from day one.

"I've taken time to think about what's best for me and I am confident this to is the right decision to help me achieve my goals.

"Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the last two years. See you in 2027."

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Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.