Tyrrell Hatton responds to Rory McIlroy’s shot with weight joke

Despite being grouped with European Ryder Cup teammates Rory McIlroy AND Tommy Fleetwood at this week’s Dubai Desert Classic, Tyrrell Hatton may have expected some trouble in the opening round.

At the beginning of the week, McIlroy had sent Hatton a surprising and pointed message and fellow LIV pro Jon Rahm during his pre-tournament press conference.

But according to Hatton, the main topic of discussion between him and McIlroy on Thursday was Hatton’s incredible season, which resulted in an impressive weight gain that left McIlroy “appalled”.

Here’s what you need to know.

Rory McIlroy’s surprising challenge to LIV Ryder Cup teammates: ‘Try it’

The most notable feature of the European team’s victory at the 2025 Ryder Cup (beyond the fan abuse they faced) was their ability to play as a team. On the course and in press conferences, Europe’s star players repeatedly demonstrated that they care for each other and they had each other’s backs.

That’s why it was particularly surprising when McIlroy followed two of his teammates to his press conference at the Dubai Desert Classic this week.

The topic that drew McIlroy’s reaction was the annual fines charged to LIV professionals by the DP World Tour for playing in the rookie league. The fines, which run into millions, have already been paid by LIV. But starting this year, players will have to pay the fines themselves. If they don’t pay, they risk losing their DP World Tour membership and surrendering their chance to play Ryder Cups.

When asked if his teammates should pay the fines to continue Ryder Cup play, McIlroy argued that they should, using their criticism of the US Ryder Cup team to express his opinion.

“Look, that’s my opinion. We came up big with the Americans to get paid to play in Ryder Cups, and we also said we’d pay to play in Ryder Cups. There’s two guys who can prove that. Way to go,” McIlroy said Wednesday.

Given the personal nature of McIlroy’s message, which could only be directed at Hatton and Rahm, some wondered if both players would show some frost on the court.

But Hatton found that another topic dominated their discussions: Hatton’s offseason celebrations.

Tyrrell Hatton jokes about off-season weight gain: ‘I was coming back like the Titanic’

“We didn’t really talk about it,” Hatton said after the first round, referring to McIlroy’s comments about the DP World Tour fines. “It was me mostly asking him if he’d had any good wine over Christmas, to be honest. It was better than the wine I used to drink, but my wine was also very nice.”

Then Hatton revealed something that really disgusted McIlroy,

“He was horrified when he heard how heavy I was on January 1,” Hatton said. “I was 204 pounds, which at 5-foot-8 is aggressive.”

He went on to explain that he has been “enjoying” December with “zero cardio and lots of booze”, helped by “a light tap of Guinness at home”. The result of all that fun? A weight gain of 14 kilograms.

“Before the Ryder Cup, I was about 190 pounds. So I put on a stone (14 pounds). Yeah, I enjoyed my December,” Hatton joked. “I’ve been doing some exercise. Zero cardio and lots of drinking. I had a pint of Guinness at home, which was nice. And, yes, now it’s time to lose some weight.”

Hatton’s routine of self-deprecation continued.

“I was turning like the Titanic. I still feel very stiff. The backswing is not too much of a problem. When I started again, I felt my backswing was shorter than Jon (Rahm), which is not ideal!”

Eventually, the banter stopped and Hatton addressed McIlroy’s comments directly.

“Yeah, I mean, I ended up looking at what was said. That’s his opinion, so everyone’s allowed an opinion, and I don’t have anything more to add to that,” Hatton said diplomatically. “I think something will be worked out, hopefully something soon. I think everyone is very eager for that to happen. So, yeah, we’ll see what happens.”

Hatton’s play on the field may have influenced his measured reaction. Hatton beat McIlroy by three shots in Round 1, 70 to 73. He backed it up with a 69 on Friday to reach five under at the halfway point of the Dubai Desert Classic. McIlroy also shot a 69 in the 2nd round and will start the weekend at two under par.