McKibbin, meanwhile, is continuing his steady progress in the professional ranks having secured his place at Troon in bittersweet fashion by losing to Germany’s Marcel Siem in a play-off for last month’s Italian Open.
The 21-year-old, who finished a respectable tied 41st on his US Open debut last month, says he is wary of putting too much pressure on himself this week.
“[I’ll] go out, play my game and at the end of it assess where I’m at against these great guys,” said McKibbin, who joked that Clarke had been giving him a “hard time” about not being in the field before he qualified.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself by saying I want to do this and that but just go out, commit to all my shots and have a good week.”
As for Clarke, who finished tied second at Troon in 1997, the 55-year-old says he is confident the future holds major championship wins for both McIlroy and McKibbin.
“He [McIlroy]’s got more coming and if he [McKibbin] listens to Rors, he’ll have his name on some trophies as well. And I’ll be happily sitting with a drink in my hand watching them both on TV!”