HATTON FOLLOWS RAHM, JOINS LIV GOLF
Tyrrell Hatton of England made it official Wednesday by joining Saudi-funded LIV Golf, giving the league another player from the top 20 in the world and filling out the new team led by Masters champion Jon Rahm.
Hatton had been mentioned as a LIV Golf target ever since the Saudi-funded league signed Rahm in a surprising move toward the end of last year. Rahm and Hatton have been partners in the last two Ryder Cup matches.
The Daily Telegraph reported Hatton signed a bonus of 50 million pounds ($63 million).
LIV Golf starts its third year this week at Mayakoba on the Gulf coast of Mexico. Hatton will be part of Rahm’s new team called Legion XIII.
Also joining Rahm’s team are Kieran Vincent of Zimbabwe and Caleb Surratt, who played college golf at Tennessee and competed in the Walker Cup last year at St. Andrews. Vincent, the brother of LIV Golf player Scott Vincent, earned a spot in the league at the qualifying tournament last year.
“We’ve come a long way in a short period of time and are extremely proud of the team and brand we are building,” Rahm said. “As we were developing the team’s brand it became clear that I wanted to fight alongside a group of guys who aligned perfectly with what the team stands for.”
He described Hatton as a “fierce competitor, proven champion” and his Ryder Cup teammate.
Hatton, who has gone two years since his last win at the Abu Dhabi Championship, is No. 16 in the world. He has seven victories worldwide, including the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in 2020.
Hatton and Rahm were 3-0 in team matches at the Ryder Cup in 2023 and 2021. Hatton went 3-0-1 for Europe when it regained the cup at Marco Simone last September.
“I’m really excited for this next chapter, to link up with Jon Rahm and Legion XIII, and to get started this week in Mexico,” Hatton said.
He was listed in the field for the AT&T Pebble Beach ProAm this week, and recently was confirmed to play in the Phoenix Open.
LIV Golf now has 13 teams, after two years of 12 four-man teams. Each 54-hole event awards $4 million to the individual winner, and there is a team competition based on scores.
McIlroy against punishment
Ror y McIlroy wants golf put back together again as quickly as possible, saying Tuesday that even winning one of the PGA Tour’s signature events would feel cheapened because it didn’t have all the best players in the world.
McIlroy also said he would be opposed to any form of punishment for players who left the tour for the Saudi riches of LIV Golf and wanted to come back.
“I think it’s hard to punish people,” McIlroy said at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. “I don’t think there should be a punishment. Obviously, I’ve changed my tune on that because I see where golf is and I see that having a diminished PGA Tour and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties.
“It would be much better being together and moving forward together for the good of the game. That’s my opinion of it. So to me, the faster that we can all get back together and start to play and start to have the strongest fields possible, I think, is great for golf.”
LIV and die with OWGR
The absence of world ranking points for LIV Golf is starting to show itself when it comes to the majors, particularly the Masters.
Nine players with LIV Golf who played in the Masters in 2023 are not eligible to return to Augusta National in April. That includes Mito Pereira
(runner-up in the 2022 PGA Championship) and Joaquin Niemann, who qualified last year through the Tour Championship.
The others seven all qualified last year as being in the top 50 in the world ranking. Of those seven, only two players — Louis Oosthuizen at No. 134 and Abraham Ancer at No. 154 — are inside the top 250 in the world ranking.
Niemann is at No. 66. The top 50 on March 31 get into the Masters.