Golf

Marcel Siem defeats Tom McKibbin in playoff to win Italian Open

McKibbin had carded 65 and earns Open invite but back-to-back birdies earn Siem a sixth European title

Germany's Marcel Siem shakes hands with Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland after winning a playoff to claim the Italian Open at Adriatic Golf Club Cervia in Ravenna. Photograph: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Germany's Marcel Siem shakes hands with Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland after winning a playoff to claim the Italian Open at Adriatic Golf Club Cervia in Ravenna. Photograph: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Philip Reid
Sun Jun 30 2024 - 21:02

Tom McKibbin – the 21-year-old Belfast golfer who has made huge strides in his young professional career – lost but also won in a dramatic performance of the Italian Open in Milan.

McKibbin shot a brilliant closing round of 65 for a total of 10-under-par 274 that saw him leap from tied-36th to joint first only to lose out in a playoff to German veteran Marcel Siem for the title on the DP World Tour.

Yet, in defeat, McKibbin – a product the same Holywood Golf Club in Co Down that also provided Rory McIlroy – gained huge rewards the runner-up finish earned him an exemption into the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon next month, and moved him to eighth on the updated Race to Dubai rankings and very much on target to claim one of the 10 places available to the a PGA Tour card on the US circuit next season.

McKibbin has produced six top-10s on the DP World Tour this season and, after winning the Porsche European Open in his rookie season, was looking for a second career win on the European circuit only to come up second to the German who has recovered from injury to claim a sixth career win.

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Siem, playing in just his fourth tournament since returning from hip surgery, completed a remarkable comeback from injury as he beat McKibbin in a play-off to win his sixth DP World Tour title at the Italian Open presented by Regione Emilia-Romagna.

The German holed a crucial birdie putt on the last hole in regulation to force a play-off against McKibbin, who set the clubhouse target two-and-a-half hours prior after his six-under-par round of 65.

On the first extra hole, the pair both found the green, but McKibbin’s putt crept past the cup, opening the door for Siem who made no mistake again as he rolled his putt in to claim his second victory in just over a year, following on from his Hero Indian Open success last February.

“It was really, really tough. You saw the scoreboard. Everybody was making bogeys and doubles, it was really tough, the wind was swirling. The pins were tucked in the corners, which was, for me, perfect. Wind off the right and pins on the right. But it was really tough out there. All the hole locations were in the shade, it was really tough to read the putts. Holing that putt on 18 was one of the coolest moments in golf. To do it again in a playoff was fantastic,” said Siem, who had already qualified for The Open Championship in Troon.

In the Le Vauldreil Challenge on the Challenge Tour, won in a sudden death play off by Spain’s Joel Moscatel, Dubliner Conor Purcell continued his strong season in a quest for a full tour card with a tied-16th place finish.

Philip Reid

Philip Reid

Philip Reid is Golf Correspondent of The Irish Times