Tom McKibbin reflects on ‘awesome’ US Open final round with Scottie Scheffler

Tom McKibbin reflected on playing the final round of the US Open with current world number one Scottie Scheffler

McKibbin came through a 36-hole qualifier to contest his first major championship at Pinehurst, where he birdied the final hole of his second round to make the cut on the mark of five over par.

Following a third round of 71, the 21-year-old found himself paired with Masters champion and world number one Scottie Scheffler on Sunday, with both players shooting 72.

“I’m very tired,” McKibbin admitted after a round containing three bogeys and a solitary birdie on the 13th.

“It was good to play all four rounds and to shoot four decent scores was really good. I enjoyed it a lot.

“To hole that putt on the last (in round two) meant the world to me and then to play two more rounds it was pretty cool just to experience the golf course over the weekend.”

Asked about playing with Scheffler, McKibbin added: “It was amazing.

“It was a great experience to play with the guy that’s been the best in the world for the last couple of years and to play alongside him and get an up close look at it was pretty cool. It was awesome.

“There was a good lot of chat, he’s probably one of the nicest guys I’ve played with; a lot of chit-chat going around and it was really good.

“Obviously the best players in the world are here so to be able to play four rounds gives me a lot of confidence going back for the summer because I think these events really test your game.

“They’re the toughest of challenges.”