This week, the Porsche Singapore Classic takes place at the Laguna National Golf Resort Club. It is an event of the DP World Tour that kicks off a four-tournament swing in Asia, also including India and two in China, with the Masters Tournament in between. In the Singapore stop, we have ten Spaniards: Alex del Rey, Pablo Larrazábal, Alfredo García Heredia, Manu Elvira, Nacho Elvira, Jorge Campillo, Iván Cantero, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Ángel Ayora, and Joel Moscatel. However, the name on everyone’s lips these days in that region is not Spanish but British. It is Tom McKibbin, a LIV Golf recruit in 2025, who is going to compete in the tournament.
The question everyone in Singapore is asking is why he is playing a DP World Tour event. Until now, there were three possible reasons: a direct sponsor’s invitation, as is the case with Paul Casey, because he has paid the fines, or because he has appealed the sanction imposed by the European circuit. As you may recall, the sanctions are due to playing a tournament of another circuit that is not the DP World Tour without permission in the same week there was a tournament of this tour.
McKibbin, since starting the season in LIV with Legion XIII of Jon Rahm, has done so on two occasions, when he played the inaugural LIV event in Saudi Arabia the same week as the Qatar Masters and with the one in Hong Kong, coinciding with the Joburg Open. The other two LIV tournaments he has played (Australia and Singapore) do not conflict because there were no DP World Tour events that week. Thus, the young Northern Irishman has breached the European circuit’s regulations twice. So, why is he playing in Singapore?
The reason is purely bureaucratic. According to Ten Golf, he has neither paid the fines nor appealed them, simply because he has not yet been sanctioned. It’s a matter of timing. After breaching the European circuit’s regulations twice, a disciplinary file has been opened, which is currently in process. That is, the breach occurred just over a month ago and has not yet been resolved, so there is no punishment. Until the DP World Tour makes a decision, McKibbin can play with his circuit category, as is happening this week.
From a timing perspective, it has worked out wonderfully for the golfer from Holywood, as last week he played the LIV Golf in Singapore and hasn’t had to move from there to play this week in the DP World Tour. However, when there is a firm resolution from the European circuit, McKibbin will have to decide what to do. Normally, as happened in the cases of Tyrrell Hatton or Jon Rahm, teammates of the Northern Irishman, he will appeal the fines, and while the mediator judge’s resolution is pending, he will also be able to play in the DP World Tour.
By the way, McKibbin is playing with a Spaniard for the first two days this week. It is Alejandro del Rey, winner this year in Ras al Khaimah (long live the Pak del Rak!) and who has done very well in Singapore the past two years.
