
Tyrrell Hatton was all smiles during his opening round match at this week's British Masters.
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Think back seven months ago, to the end of January. Actually, seven months ago. January 30, 2024 – the day Tyrell Hatton officially joined LIV Golf.
It was a poorly kept secret at the time, but the details of his departure are still a little confusing. Hatton had played in Hawaii, then went to Dubai. That was the PGA Tour's progression into the Dubai World Tour. How did he decide the next step was to play in the Ryder Cup? The truth is, he wasn't entirely sure of everything. He knew he had to explain himself to a specific group of people: the Ryder Cup group chat.
“I think when I sent a message to the Ryder Cup chat group to tell everyone I was going, I was nervous,” Hatton said at this spring’s Masters, his first time competing with friends from the PGA and DP World Tours.
Maybe it was nervous about the reaction. But it was also nervous about the fact that joining LIV Golf meant publicly admitting that you were willing to sacrifice your chances of playing in the next Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup obviously meant a lot to Hatton.
The Brit has played in three Cups and knows the road to a fourth will be tough, now that he has not played in qualifying all year. That's why he's playing this week at the Betfred British Masters, held at The Belfry in central England, the long-time host of the Ryder Cup. To play in next year's Cup, Hatton needs to be a DP World Tour member in 2025, and to be a DP World Tour member in 2025, he must play at least four Tour events in 2024. That's the minimum. Suddenly, flying across the world to play in January's Dubai Desert Classic feels like a brilliant decision. It gets the membership race moving in the right direction.
“[The Ryder Cup is] “That's certainly one of the reasons why 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 the Ryder Cup next year and this week is the perfect time to try and get off to a good start.”
Coincidentally, this week is the first week of Ryder Cup qualifying points. Ryder Cup Europe is working on a new qualifying system for next year's team, and while there aren't many points available — just 1,500, compared to 5,000 for the 2025 majors — Hatton has a chance to earn as many as he can. He built a two-shot lead through 36 holes.
Hatton may be off to a good start, which will help if he has trouble finding tournaments to qualify for on his schedule next season. Ryder Cup Europe has the highest number of points among major championships, followed by the PGA Tour’s signature events. Of those events, Hatton can currently play in just one, the 2025 Masters, because of his T9 finish in April. He can’t qualify for the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and the British Open — limiting his chances significantly. (Or requiring him to qualify through sectionals to get into the majors.) That makes his situation at the Ryder Cup very different from that of teammate Jon Rahm, who will play every major championship.
When Rahm left LIV Golf a few months before Hatton, it was big news, and Rory McIlroy's response to the decision was almost as big news, saying that the qualifying criteria should be rewritten to ensure Rahm can play and face the American team at Bethpage Black. But just this week, captain Luke Donald said his team would not be offering any special treatment to Rahm or Hatton. The minimum requirement of four events will not change. Donald is glad Hatton got the message.
“Whether it's the LIV or the DP World Tour, there are certain rules and regulations that players have to meet and I'm pleased that Tyrrell has met those rules and regulations,” Donald told the BBC. “I know he plans to play more tournaments in the coming months.”
Hatton has a pretty good schedule there. His LIV Golf season ends in September, when he'll have a chance to play in the French Open, Dunhill Links, Andalucia Masters, and more. If he plays well this weekend, he could earn a DP World Tour playoff spot for two season-ending tournaments in November. We'll worry about those November events when they arrive, though. Hatton has a big August weekend to get through first.