Tom McKibbin set to host Challenge Tour’s NI Open at Galgorm in July

The event, which will be played at Galgorm from July 25-28, has been endorsed by 21-year-old McKibbin, who has pledged to compete at the Tuesday Pro-Am on what will be an off-week on the DP World Tour.

This year’s NI Open is set to attract a blockbuster field as one of the leading tournaments on the Challenge Tour circuit, with its top names such as Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, France’s Alexander Levy and Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg vying for promotion to the DP World Tour.

As well as that, many of Northern Ireland’s top professionals will be competing as they, too, look to boost their Road to Mallorca rankings, with Ballymena’s Dermot McElroy and Clandeboye’s Jonathan Caldwell likely to be in attendance.

And it will be something of a homecoming for McKibbin, who made his first professional start as a 13-year-old amateur at the NI Open in 2016, and he is now a touring professional at the Co Antrim course.

“I am honoured to be part of the revamped NI Open which promises to be another outstanding event here in Northern Ireland. We have a great summer of tournament golf to look forward to and the NI Open is an exciting opportunity for golf fans to witness some of the game’s leading players,” said McKibbin, the defending Porsche European Open champion.

“I played in many Challenge Tour events when starting out in my career and they are hugely competitive with great players from all over the world. I know there will be a strong Irish contingent competing at Galgorm too, which will give the home fans plenty to cheer about.

“I’m looking forward to getting back to Galgorm in what promises to be a great week in July.”

The NI Open will feature a £250,000 prize fund and will play a key role in determining which players will be headed to Mallorca at the end of the season for the tour’s play-off events.

The tournament first started on the EuroPro Tour back in 2010 and has since gone through several transformations, being elevated to the Challenge Tour in 2013, where it was won by four-time European Tour winner Ryan Fox in 2016, before dropping back onto the Clutch Pro Tour in 2021.

This season it is back on the Challenge Tour and, since it falls in a down week on the DP World Tour, is all but guaranteed to have a full strength field in attendance.

“It’s great to have the NI Open back on the Challenge Tour schedule for the first time in four years. Historically it has been one of the best supported events on the calendar, and we’re hoping that fans will come out in their numbers once again to show their support,” said the Challenge Tour’s director Jamie Hodges.

“Galgorm has provided several nail-biting finishes before and I’m expecting this year to be no different. It is the perfect setting for what is guaranteed to be a great week.

“The NI Open comes at a pivotal time in our season, with players fighting for points that could go a long way to ensuring their promotion to the DP World Tour. For each player teeing it up, there is a lot on the line.”

Despite being bumped up to the Challenge Tour for next season, there will still be a link with the ‘third tier’ Clutch Pro Tour, which will promote it in association with Galgorm.

“We are thrilled to be coming to Galgorm and Northern Ireland later this year. We have had several great Clutch Pro Tour events there in recent years and look forward to the NI Open on the European Challenge Tour this year,” said Tom Hayward, the director of the Clutch Pro Tour.

“The NI Open is the pinnacle of the 2024 season for us all at Clutch. We continue to provide genuine pathways for young, aspiring professionals and the opportunities for our members to play on the European Challenge Tour can be life changing.”