Tyrrell Hatton smiles during the first round of the British Masters this week.
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Think back seven months, to the end of January. Seven months to the day, in fact. January 30, 2024 — day Tyrrell Hatton officially joined LIV Golf.
It was a poorly kept secret at the time, but the details surrounding his departure were still a bit confusing. Hatton had played in Hawaii, then ran to Dubai. This is the PGA Tour on the DP World Tour. How had he decided LIV was next? The truth is, he wasn’t quite sure about everything. And he knew he would have to explain himself to a certain group of people: the Ryder Cup group chat.
“I think when I texted him on the group chat, on the Ryder Cup chat to tell the guys I was going, I was nervous sending the message,” Hatton said at the Masters this spring. This was his first tournament to join his PGA and DP World Tour friends.
Nervous about the answer, maybe. But also nervous because joining LIV Golf is an open admission that you are willing to sacrifice your place in the next Ryder Cup. And the Ryder Cup is obviously a big deal for Hatton.
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The Englishman has played in three Cups and knows the road to his fourth will be tricky now that he is not playing in qualifying events all year. That’s why he’s competing in this week’s Betfred British Masters – held at long-time Ryder Cup host The Belfry in central England. In order for Hatton to play in next year’s Cup, he must be a member of the DP World Tour in 2025, and to be a member of the DP World Tour in 2025, he must play at least four tournaments here in 2024. That is the minimum. Suddenly, flying around the world to play Dubai desert classic in January feels like a fantastic decision. She got this membership drive going in the right direction.
“(The Ryder Cup is) certainly one of the reasons I wanted to play this week,” Hatton said on Wednesday. “The Ryder Cup is really important to me and I’d love to be in that team next year, and this is the perfect week to try and get off to a good start.”
Fittingly, this week marks the first week in which Ryder Cup qualifying points are offered. Ryder Cup Europe is working on a new qualification system for next year’s team, and while there aren’t many points available – just 1,500 compared to 5,000 for 2025 titles – Hatton is able to earn as many as he can. possible. He has built a two-shot lead through 36 holes.
Hatton could have a great start to the qualifying position, which would help if he struggles to find qualifying events on his schedule next season. The Ryder Cup Europe is awarding the most points during major championships, followed by the PGA Tour’s Signature Events. Of those, Hatton is currently locked into just one start, the 2025 Masters, thanks to his T9 finish in April. He is not eligible for the PGA Championship, the US Open, nor the Open Championship – greatly limiting his options. (Or requiring him to travel through the sectional qualifying route to the majors.) That makes his Ryder Cup situation slightly different from that of teammate Jon Rahm, who will play in every major championship. .
It was big news when Rahm left for LIV Golf a few months before Hatton, and almost as much news when Rory McIlroy responded to that decision by saying the eligibility criteria needed to be rewritten to make sure Rahm was there, faced the Americans. at Bethpage Black. But just this week, captain Luke Donald said his team won’t offer any special treatment to Rahm or Hatton. of four-event minimum it doesn’t go anywhere. Donald is glad Hatton is getting the message.
“There are certain rules and regulations that players, whether in LIV or on the DP World Tour, have to meet and I’m glad Tyrrell is satisfying his,” Donald told the BBC. “I know he’s planning to play a few more events over the next few months.”
The schedule is well set for Hatton there. His season at LIV Golf will end in September, from which point he will have obvious opportunities to play the French Open, Dunhill Links, Andalucia Masters, etc. And if he plays well this weekend, he could slide into the DP World Tour playoff position for two tournaments that end the season in November. However, we will worry about the events of November when they come. Hatton has a big August weekend ahead of him first.
