LIV Golf: Tom McKibbin future is not affecting GB&I - Justin Rose
2025-01-09
Category: sports

Captain Justin Rose says speculation over Tom McKibbin's future has not been an issue as Great Britain and Ireland prepare for this week's Team Cup.Earlier this week it emerged the Northern Irishman is set to join LIV Golf in a shock move, just two months after he earned his first PGA Tour card.McKibbin, who is expected to join Jon Rahm's Legion XIII team, refused to comment on his future on Wednesday."I think we're all aware of that. It hasn't been confirmed to me, but it hasn't been denied either," Rose told BBC golf correspondent Iain Carter before the start of the Ryder Cup-style event in Abu Dhabi on Friday."The team room is the team room this week and the lads are all here for this week." The former world number one said players have become used to speculation around their peers joining LIV Golf since the Saudi Arabian-backed circuit was established in 2022."I think all of that is down the road in the future and we're used to that narrative in golf now the last few years, it's been unsettled for a while," Rose added. "We're all quite accustomed to it. My team is just enjoying being here in the Middle East - what a wonderful place to start the season - and mucking in and wanting to get their own individual seasons off to a fantastic start."
'More motivated than ever'
Rose, who is a playing captain at the Team Cup against Francesco Molinari's continental European side, is targeting more consistency in 2025 as he bids to play in his seventh Ryder Cup. The 2013 US Open champion was one of Europe captain Luke Donald's picks for the 2023 victory over the United States in Rome and is determined to earn a spot on his team for this year's contest in New York. Rose did not win a tournament in 2024 but finished joint runner-up to Xander Schauffele at the Open Championship in July."This year, I've woken up more motivated than ever," said the 44-year-old. "I had some nice results last year and a chance to win The Open signalled that I still have what it takes to play at the highest level. "My job is to do that more consistently this year than I have in the past couple of seasons. "With that, I need to make some changes personally. What those are I won't go into at this moment. But I think I just need to step it up a bit this year and I'm very enthused to do that."