Tom McKibbin's switch to LIV confirmed by Jon Rahm ahead of new season

Tom McKibbin's switch to LIV golf has been confirmed with Jon Rahm announcing that the Down golfer had joined his Legion XIII team.

The Spaniard confirmed the widely touted news in a short video message on X, Rahm simply saying "Tom McKibbin, welcome to the team. Go!".

It's official. Welcome to Legion XIII, @tommckibbin8!#LegionXIII #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/mqjbibOCcZ

The 22-year old is believed to signed a contract worth $5 million (€4.8m) for three years and will make his LIV debut when the league returns for its fourth season in Riyadh next week.

McKibbin is the second high-profile Irish golfer to sign with the Saudi-backed tour after 2010 US Open champion, Graeme McDowell, who was part of the initial wave of golfers to defect in 2022.

Initial reports of McKibbin's departure came as a shock, in the wake of his strong showing in 2024 season, when he finished 18th in the Race to Dubai, securing dual membership of the DP World Tour and PGA Tour for 2025.

His fellow Holywood native and mentor Rory McIlroy had been one of the staunchest critics of the LIV tour and bluntly said of McKibbin's move that "I wouldn't make that decision."

However, he stressed that "he's a grown man at this point and can make his own decisions. All I can do is try to give him my perspective. Personally for me it would be a little disappointing if it were to happen.

"I made it perfectly clear: I am not going to stand in your way if you need to make the decision you feel like you need to make for yourself. But at the same time, I feel like he's giving up a lot to not really benefit that much.

"At the end of the day, he has to make his own decision, and when he does, whatever way that goes, I'm always going to be a fan of his. I'm always going to try to help