Link Hong Kong Open champion Tom McKibbin [main picture] is feeling annoyed that he could not extend his Masters debut into the weekend, but missing the cut has fueled the inner fire to come back to Augusta National Golf Club, again and again. Story by Joy Chakravarty – Asian Tour contributor – at Augusta.

The 23-year-old from Holywood in Northern Ireland, now a resident of Dubai, shot rounds of 75 and 76 and fell shy of the cutline at four-over par by three shots.

That second-round 76 saw him balloon to five-over in the first five holes with a double bogey and three bogeys, before he gathered himself and finished the last 13 holes in one under.

Also missing the cut was Thailand’s Fifa Laopakdee, the reigning Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, who finished on 11-over par total.

McKibbin, whose win in Hong Kong last year had secured the first Masters invitation for him, said: “I think it’s probably the first time I’ve come to a place and sort of felt like ‘try to not miss it again’.

Masters champion Jon Rahm and Tom McKibbin greet each other on hole No. 9 during a practice round prior to the Masters.Picture by Simon Bruty/Augusta National/Getty Images.

“Obviously, it’s very hard to get in. I’d definitely like to try and get back here at some point. It would be nice. It’s the best golf tournament that I have ever played. Yeah, it would be good to come back here again and again.”

Friday was a frustrating day for McKibbin, who started with two solid shots into the par-4 first green, but then got completely flummoxed by the green and three-putted for a bogey from 30 yards. On the par-5 second hole, he hit a brilliant tee shot that was in the left fairway, and his second shot unfortunately clipped the last branch of a tree and led to a double bogey.

“Overall, I hit a lot of good shots. A couple too many putts, and then the second is probably the only real bad shot that really cost me,” said McKibbin.

“It was a very annoying week, but one that was so much fun. It was a bit of everything. Probably a little bit of every emotion.”

McKibbin said the two competitive rounds and the days leading up to it were a great learning experience, especially on how the greens behaved. He hoped that it would stand him in good stead in the future.

“I think the biggest positive is just the sort of experience that I take from here,” he said.

“The more times you can play, especially on these greens, the better. I think the greens are obviously the trickiest part. The course changes so much from the practice days. Yesterday (Thursday) was a little bit of guesswork, maybe.

“I knew what they would do slope-wise, but the speed was so quick. Uphill, they are still quite slow. Then, going out this morning, again, you think they’re going to be super quick, but that little bit of dew and stuff slows it down. It’s like a little bit of guesswork on the greens, which you learn through playing more rounds here.

Tom McKibbin. Picture by Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

“I was sort of uncertain. You don’t really know what’s going to happen until you hit the putt. Obviously, once you sort of hit it outside 25 feet, you’re just trying not to three-putt really. Some of the putts have so much slope.”

McKibbin said the shot of the tournament for him was the one that set up his birdie on the par-5 15th hole on Friday.

“I hit a lovely seven-wood into 15 today. I had to cut it around the trees and hit it about 20 feet. It was nice to pull off one iconic shot that I had watched on TV. I also hit another really good shot into the 10th green, which was enjoyable as well,” he added.

The Legion XIII team member on the LIV Golf League travels to Mexico City next for the LIV Golf Mexico next week.