Tom McKibbin ready for Open debut after 'awesome' practice round experiece with Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke

Tom McKibbin is looking forward to another big week in his fledgling career as the County Down golfer prepares for his Open Championship debut.

The young golfer from the same Holywood club that produced Rory McIlroy has enjoyed a steady rise over the last couple of years, winning on the DP World Tour for the first time last year with victory at the Porsche European Open.

More recently he narrowly missed out on another win following a play-off at the Italian Open, just two weeks after making his major debut at the US Open and ultimately making the cut.

But now another challenge is on the horizon with his first appearance at The Open which is taking place at Royal Troon and it's something he is relishing.

"It's a big week, first Open and a little bit different - a bit of links golf that we don't get to play much so yeah, should be a good week," he told RTÉ Sport's Greg Allen.

McKibbin is still 21 but is just looking to take milestones in his stride, adding that he has no blueprint determining at what age he will debut at particular majors and, like at the US Open, is not putting himself under pressure with specific targets.

"I wouldn't really say I had a plan to play by certain ages," he said.

"I guess once I got on the DP World Tour I aspired to be in these big events and try to play in some of the best fields in golf.

"But maybe it has come a little bit earlier than expected but at the same time sort of I think the way my game has been trending, I feel like I should have had a chance to play in one or two of them this year.

"So I think it's come at a nice time."

However, he has to grapple with playing links golf which he hasn't done since last year's Scottish Open.

"It's obviously very different trying to hit different shots and