Tag: Tyrrell Hatton

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Highlights Tours

Ryder Cup 2023: Viktor Hovland and Tyrrel Hatton Deliver Incredible Finish

Tyrrell Hatton and Viktor Hovland went up against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas at the 2023 Ryder Cup. (Photo: Getty)
Tyrrell Hatton and Viktor Hovland went up against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas at the 2023 Ryder Cup. (Photo: Getty)

In a tight match at the 2023 Ryder Cup against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton secured half a point, after going 2 Down on the back nine. They were paired together on Friday afternoon in the fourballs.

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Tyrrell Hatton and Viktor Hovland at the 2023 Ryder Cup

Q. Try to describe for us what goes through your mind and your body when you hole such a crucial putt on the 18th in front of this enormous crowd?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: It was about time the ball went in. I felt like we played some really good golf today, and the Americans played some great golf as well and they kept pushing us and yeah, — to make a putt like that on the last hole that was huge for the team.

Q. 2 DOWN and five to play; Tyrrell, how deep did you have to dig against such a formidable pairing? They have never been beaten in four-ball.

TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, it was always going to be a tough task. But we both played great today. And like he said, it was nice to finally see a putt go in there on the last. It was a tough match but we just kept plugging away, gave ourselves opportunities and yeah, ultimately by the end we’re happy with half a point.

VIKTOR HOVLAND: I thought one of us needed to make the putt and to make that one was really cool. Put a little bit more pressure on J.T. there.

Q. Both of you won your matches this morning. How much does it mean to still contribute something this afternoon?

TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, the team went out this afternoon in a good mood. Although we found ourselves 2 DOWN through, what is it, 13? We feel like we played decent and putts weren’t really dropping for us.

So yeah, obviously Viktor to hole the putt on the last was amazing. I think I almost corkscrewed into the ground fist-pumping. Yeah, they might need to prepare that one before anyone has that putt.

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Highlights Tours

2023 Ryder Cup: Jon Rahm about Tyrrell Hatton: “It’s like being in the same brain”

Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm at the 2023 Ryder Cup. (Photo: Getty)
Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm at the 2023 Ryder Cup. (Photo: Getty)

Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton put the first point for Europe on the board at the 2023 Ryder Cup. The went head to head with Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns in the first match of the day. Rahm and Hatton didn’t give them much of a chance, finishing the match 4&3 on 15. It was the first of four points Europe made in the morning foursomes.

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Quotes from Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton at the 2023 Ryder Cup

Q. How important to get some momentum and blue on the board, how satisfying to get that done?

JON RAHM: Extremely. Extremely. I’ve had a good feeling about Tyrrell all along. Last time we played together it really felt good, and it was good to come out here and perform the way we did. It’s an incredible foursomes match and we played as confident as two people can play, and it was a beautiful one.

Q. Just describe that match from your point of view, Tyrrell, you played some beautiful golf and these massive crowds cheering you on?

TYRRELL HATTON: The atmosphere this morning was incredible. Tee-to-green, I was generally fairly solid. Naturally little bit disappointed with some of the putts I missed. Ultimately we won our point and that was the goal.

Q. You told me in the past when you’re in contention to win a big championship, you get butterflies, but you love them. What’s the feeling you have playing in front of this audience?

JON RAHM: I told Tyrrell, usually the feelings you have down the stretch in a tournament I had hitting my first warm-up put at 6.20 in the morning in the dark, and it increasingly got higher until we hit that tee shot on the first hole. It’s a different feeling, but if you embrace and enjoy it, you can play some pretty good rounds of golf like we did today.

Q. What makes Jon a good partner aside from the shots he hits?

TYRRELL HATTON: He’s obviously very positive between shots, and you know, great company, and he’s always right by your side. So yeah, he’s a great teammate.

Q. What an emphatic performance you put together. You are undefeated in foursomes play in the Ryder Cup. What do you love so much about this format?

JON RAHM: I don’t know. It’s quite stressful but the strongest part of my game is ball-striking, right, and what Tyrrell and I did really well today is hit the shots that we needed. Any time we needed the right shot to change the momentum, we did. You know, that’s the key in match play, right, just keep hitting the right shots at the right time.

Q. We know you two are passionate players but what works so well about this foursomes pairing?

TYRRELL HATTON: I mean, we didn’t really give much away. We were very hard to play against this morning. I think we were four- or five-under, so in foursomes, that’s a good effort. Yeah, it was an enjoyable morning.

Q. The shot on the 7th tee, that came very close. How were your emotions watching a near hole-in-one on Friday at the Ryder Cup?

JON RAHM: I think it might have been too much if it goes in but it got the job ton. I was telling Tyrrell, one of those shots was a perfect number, both seven and eight, and I’m just glad I’m able to hit a tee shot and put it in the same spot. Obviously be amazing to make it.

Some people might wonder why we got paired together recently; we think about the game very similarly and we react to the game very similarly and we understand each other. When one of us misses a shot, we know what’s going on in the other player’s mind. We might vocalise it differently, but at the end of the day it’s the same process. It’s like being in the same brain.

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Highlights Tours

Ryder Cup 2023: Tyrrell Hatton with third appearance in a row

Ryder Cup 2023 will be the third time on Team Europe for Tyrrell Hatton. (Photo: Getty)
Ryder Cup 2023 will be the third time on Team Europe for Tyrrell Hatton. (Photo: Getty)

The Ryder Cup 2023 is just around the corner. Tyrrell Hatton will be part of the team again this year. Despite rather disappointing performances at the Major tournaments and a season without a title so far, the 31-year-old Englishman qualified for Team Europe for the third time in a row. Alongside Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, Hatton is thus the fourth player who was certain to be competing for the European team at the Ryder Cup. Known for his temperament, Hatton could be a valuable points contributor for Team Europe – as long as he can keep his emotions in check.

Tyrrell Hatton at the 2023 Ryder Cup

In a year that has so far lacked major success, Hatton qualified for the Ryder Cup through consistent performances and a strong finish on the world points list. With Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm qualifying via the European points list, Hatton’s fourth-best world points score among European players helped him jump into one of the contested spots for the 2023 Ryder Cup.

For Team Europe, the talented Englishman could be a key to success. With seven top-10 finishes in 21 tournaments played in 2023 and only one missed cut, the 31-year-old is proving once again this season that he is one of the best golfers in the world. While it wasn’t enough for Hatton to earn a top finish at the majors, his best finishes this year include a runner-up finish at The Players Championship and shared third-place finishes at the Wells Fargo Championship and Canadian Open.

Tyrrell Hatton’s third consecutive Ryder Cup appearance

For Hatton, participation in the 2023 Ryder Cup represents his third consecutive appearance in the tournament. The two previous competitions in 2018 and 2021 could not have been more different. While Team Europe claimed a convincing victory in France in 2018, Hatton and Co. suffered a historic defeat at the hands of Team USA in Wisconsin in 2021. Hatton himself turned in solid performances in both tournaments, contributing one point (1-2-0) in 2018 and 1.5 points (1-2-1) in 2021.

For the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy, the European team will be looking for revenge for 2021 despite being perceived as the underdog. “I think Europe will have a strong team. The media will portray us as underdogs, but we will have a very strong team,” Hatton announced in an interview with talkSPORT. In any case, the fact that Team USA has not been able to win on European soil for 30 years speaks in favor of success for the Europeans.

Tyrrell Hatton: Dry spell and great successes

Tyrrell Hatton achieved the breakthrough in his career in 2016 when he won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Particularly impressive in this first major success was his 62 strokes in round three. In the following years, Hatton collected five more successes on the European Tour and won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour in 2020. He also won the 2018 Ryder Cup with Team Europe, but since his victory in 2021 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Tyrrell Hatton has been waiting for a trophy. A triumph at the 2023 Ryder Cup would certainly be a welcome sense of achievement for him in the context of this dry spell and will provide extra motivation.

A look inside Tyrrell Hatton’s bag for the 2023 Ryder Cup.

Tyrrell Hatton is relying on the latest woods and irons from Ping for his Ryder Cup appearance as well. The Englishman seems satisfied with the driver and the woods of the G430 series and delivers first-class performances time and again. On the fairways and par 3s, Hatton then uses the Ping i230 irons, and starting with the 7-iron, Ping built him a prototype. The Blade is also visually different from the brand’s usual game improvement irons and provides targeting accuracy and more opportunities to “shape” the trajectory, but is also much more challenging to play. Around the greens, Hatton uses the latest variant of the popular Ping Glide wedges. On the green, the Englishman then also resorts to a “vintage model”. The Ping Vault Oslo putter was first launched in 2016 and, after some back and forth, still seems to be a favorite in Hatton’s bag. He also uses the Titleist Pro V1x as his playing ball.

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Professionals

Ryder Cup 2023: Tyrrell Hatton with third participation in a row

Tyrrell Hatton will compete in the 2023 Ryder Cup for the third time. (Photo: Getty)
Tyrrell Hatton will compete in the 2023 Ryder Cup for the third time. (Photo: Getty)

The Ryder Cup 2023 is just around the corner. Tyrrell Hatton will be part of the team again this year. Despite rather disappointing performances at the Major tournaments and a season without a title so far, the 31-year-old Englishman qualified for Team Europe for the third time in a row. Alongside Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, Hatton is thus the fourth player who will certainly be competing for the European team at the Ryder Cup. Known for his temperament, Hatton could be a valuable points contributor for Team Europe – as long as he keeps his emotions in check.

Tyrrell Hatton at the Ryder Cup 2023

In a year that has so far lacked major success, Hatton qualified for the Ryder Cup through consistent performances and a strong finish on the world points list. With Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm qualifying via the European points list, Hatton, with the fourth-best world points score among European players, made the jump to one of the contested spots for the 2023 Ryder Cup.

For Team Europe, the talented Englishman could be a key to success. This season, for example, the 31-year-old is once again proving that he is one of the best golfers in the world, with seven top-10 finishes in 21 tournaments played in 2023 and only one missed cut. While Hatton did not manage a top finish at the majors, his best results this year include a runner-up finish at the Players Championship and a shared third place at the Wells Fargo Championship and the Canadian Open.

Tyrrell Hatton’s third consecutive Ryder Cup appearance

For Hatton, the participation in the 2023 Ryder Cup represents his third consecutive involvement in the tournament. The two previous competitions in 2018 and 2021 could not have been more contrasting. While Team Europe claimed a convincing victory in France in 2018, Hatton and Co. suffered a historic defeat at the hands of Team USA in Wisconsin in 2021. Hatton himself turned in solid performances in both tournaments, contributing one point (1-2-0) in 2018 and 1.5 points (1-2-1) in 2021.

For the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy, the European team will be looking for revenge for 2021 despite being perceived underdogs. “I think Europe will have a strong team. The media will portray us as underdogs, but we will have a very strong team,” Hatton announced in an interview with talkSPORT. In any case, the fact that Team USA has not been able to win on European soil for 30 years speaks in favor of success for the Europeans.

Tyrrell Hatton: Dry spell and great successes

The breakthrough in his career came in 2016 when Tyrrell Hatton won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Particularly impressive in this first big success were the 62 strokes in round three. In the following years, Hatton collected five more successes on the European Tour and won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour in 2020. He also won the 2018 Ryder Cup with Team Europe, but since his victory in 2021 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Tyrrell Hatton has been waiting for another trophy. A triumph at the 2023 Ryder Cup would certainly be a welcome sense of achievement for him in the context of this dry spell and will provide extra motivation.

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European Tour

Hatton and McIlroy ready for Abu Dhabi return

Rory McIlroy feels confident about his golf game for the upcoming tournament.(Image: Getty)

Tournament Preview

Tyrrell Hatton returns to defend his title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, joined by four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy who also begins his 2022 DP World Tour campaign at the opening Rolex Series event of the season.

Hatton claimed a record fourth Rolex Series title last year in Abu Dhabi, with a four-stroke victory, but will defend on a different course as the stunning Yas Links hosts the tournament for the first time. The Englishman will nevertheless be in confident mood as he targets a fourth successive winning season on the DP World Tour.

McIlroy, meanwhile, has come close to victory in Abu Dhabi on multiple occasions and boasts four victories in neighbouring Dubai, so the Northern Irishman will be hopeful of challenging for the title come Sunday.

His Ryder Cup team-mate Shane Lowry finished 2021 strongly, with a top five at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and a top ten at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, so the Irishman is excited to get going again at an event of which he counts himself a former champion.

Player Quotes

Tyrrell Hatton: “It is strange, normally going back to a place where you’re defending you have great memories from the year before but the fact that it’s a new venue in many respects doesn’t feel like defending, and this week is going to be a new challenge for everyone. No one has played it before.

“So you don’t know how the scoring is going to be and things like that. It’s going to be a challenge. But I’ll try my best and we’ll see what happens.

“I’ve tried to treat every event the same, and not get too work up in my own mind. Obviously I kind of do that enough on the golf course. Going into it, I just need to try and treat everything the same and that’s what I’ve done throughout my career.

“This week is a new course for everyone, so it’s hard to kind of know what the rough winning score generally is. I know we’ve got a lot of wind forecast for Friday and that’s going to obviously be a challenging day for everyone. But we’ll go out there. We’ll give it our best and see what happens.”

Rory McIlroy: “(My game) feels good. I think there’s always excitement and anticipation about a new year coming around and wanting to get off to a good start.

“I’ve been playing well in practise. I’ve been practising well. I’ve done some good work over the really sort off-season that we had. But yeah, it feels good. It’s nice to come out here and have these run of events be the first events of the year. It’s perfect weather.

“It might be a little windy for the week but you can get some good practise in and you still want to do really well in the tournament but it’s a bit like, you know, just to see where your game is and see what you need to work on going into obviously the meat of the season in a couple months’ time.

“I definitely feel like I turned a corner after The Ryder Cup. I think anyone that was paying attention saw I played better those few events did I play after The Ryder Cup and it’s just trying to continue on what I’ve been working on since then.

“I think trying to eliminate the big miss off the tee, those destructive shots where you make doubles from, reign that in a little bit and getting more effective with the scoring clubs. If I do drive the ball well I give myself so many opportunities. It’s about hitting new shots that maybe go to 15 or 20 feet or inside ten feet and all of a sudden you start to hole some and get a bit of confidence there.

“There’s not much I need to work on but there’s a couple of key aspects, and I think if I can get them down early in the year, I could be in for a good season.”

Shane Lowry: “It’s obviously along the coast here, and it’s going to be quite windy, links-style, but it’s fairly tricky around the greens, and so it’s going to require a lot of good iron play. And decent with the short game if you miss the greens.

“I’m confident with my game and going into it I’d be really, really bullish about this week. But I’ve had two months without tournament, and I’m always a bit anxious on a week like this about how I’m going to be playing going into it. It’s a course I feel like would suit me.

“I won the tournament at Abu Dhabi Golf Club but I haven’t actually had much more success. I’ve missed a lot of cuts there.

“That’s your typical parkland with nice pristine fairways and greens and thick rough, whereas here is kind of a bit more linksy style. The course here is in incredible condition, probably one of the best-condition golf courses you’ll see fairways and greens and around the greens.”

(Text: Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship)

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Panorama

PGA Tour: Year-end performance review

Rory McIlroy's year-end performance review. (Foto: Youtube/@PGA Tour)
Rory McIlroy's year-end performance review. (Foto: Youtube/@PGA Tour)

The stars of the PGA Tour around Rory McIlroy are asked performance reviews – and still have plenty of room for improvement for the upcoming year.

As the year draws to a close, it’s time for the annual performance reviews. This is also the case on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, where the stars like Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Co. are called into office for the year-end performance reviews.

PGA Tour: year-end performance reviews

Actor John C. McGinley, known as Dr. Perry Cox from the hospital series “Scrubs”, sits in front of them and sums up the performance of the professionals in the past year with many allusions. Rory McIlroy, for example, looks back on two wins in 2021 and considers himself his harshest critic, “but that could all change.”

Jordan Spieth has to face the interview without his caddie Michael and is “very nervous” about it, and Justin Thomas has to answer for his beer action at the Ryder Cup. Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, whose height and emotional nature are always a topic, Henrik Stenson, Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa also have to make an appearance. The latter is “by any estimate, perfect” but that’s where the danger lies, the interviewer said.

McGinley, who plays management consultant Bob Slydell in the film “Office Space,” analyzes the stars and their performances. In the process, it also becomes clear that many stars have no plan B up their sleeves in case their golfing career should come to an end overnight. Finally, the interviewer himself is taken for a ride.

Watch the funny sketch here:

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PGA Tour

Hatton excited for return of home fans to Wentworth

(Photo: Getty Images)

Tournament Preview

Tyrrell Hatton will tee it up alongside European Ryder Cup Captain Pádraig Harrington as the Englishman defends his BMW PGA Championship at the third Rolex Series event of the 2021 Race to Dubai.

The 30-year-old will no doubt receive a hero’s welcome this week at the prestigious Wentworth Club, where fans will return in their droves after last year’s event was played behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He will be one of a popular trio teeing it up on Thursday afternoon, joined by three-time Major winning Irishman Harrington and Norwegian Viktor Hovland, who will make his Ryder Cup debut at Whistling Straits.

Another player hoping to be in Wisconsin in two weeks’ time, on the opposing side, is American Billy Horschel as the former FedEx Cup Champion plays the BMW PGA Championship for a second time.

Player Quotes

Tyrrell Hatton: “It kind of feels surreal being back and being defending champion here. Firstly, it’s amazing to see the stands back and all the players this week, obviously looking forward to welcoming fans back and I’m sure they will create a great atmosphere for us to play in this week. The course is in great shape and yeah, it’s just nice to be back here.

“I guess I’ve been lucky to play well during these big events. I certainly don’t try and change my routine or anything like that. They have fallen on good weeks for me and obviously I’m very thankful for that.

“It’s obviously good memories coming back here. To be honest I only live sort of 25, 35 minutes away anyway. Been lucky enough to play here numerous times when I’ve been back here in the UK to the point where it almost feels a bit like a second home course.

“I feel pretty comfortable out there, and hopefully I can have a good week this week. I know my form’s not been that great for the last sort of three or four months maybe. But hopefully I can find something this week that if I make the Ryder Cup team, certainly hopefully I can help the team out.”
 
Pádraig Harrington: “It’s an interesting week. There’s obviously a number of players who are 100 per cent qualified (for the European Ryder Cup team) at this stage, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland, so they are all in 100 per cent, with a few more players that are virtually there.

“I’m told Tyrrell Hatton is not 100 per cent, if he’s not in on Sunday, so many things must have happened that it would be something strange. So, he’s virtually there and Matt Fitzpatrick is virtually there and Lee (Westwood) is right up there as well.

“But there are a number of players who can push their way into the team and a lot of points to play for this week. We wanted a bit of drama at the end and a bit of excitement, so yeah, it’s going to be an interesting week.”
 
Billy Horschel: “As I said (last time I played here) two years ago, I grew up watching this event on TV. It was the first week we were out of school and European Tour comes on early, so I was up early watching it and absolutely loved what I saw on TV from the course to the crowds and just the history of the event.

“I’ve always wanted to get over here and I was planning on getting over earlier than 2019, but it just didn’t happen and when I came here in 2019, it was everything it lived up to be and more. It was just a blast. I’m looking forward to another great week.

“Knowing no American was won the Race to Dubai, it would be cool to do that. Also being a FedEx Cup Champion, I would love to be able to do that. I have to play well here this week and play well in two weeks, three weeks when I play Dunhill and at the end of the year at the DP World.”
 

Press Release by European Tour Communications

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European Tour

Hatton chasing desert double in Dubai

All eyes will be on Tyrrell Hatton in Dubai as he aims for a desert double. (Image: Getty)

Tournament Preview

Tyrrell Hatton arrives at this week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic with a spring in his step as the Englishman targets back-to-back victories in the Middle East, following his triumph last week in Abu Dhabi.

The 29-year-old climbed to a career-high fifth in the Official World Golf Ranking courtesy of his four-stroke win, for his third title in just under a year on both the European Tour and PGA Tour.

Tyrrell Hatton had this to say following his Abu Dhabi win: “The win last week still feels a little bit surreal, alongside with where we’ve moved up to in the World Rankings. It doesn’t feel like it was me who won the tournament. Looking forward to this week. It’s nice to be back here in Dubai, I missed the event last year because I was still recovering from wrist surgery. I’ve had some good finishes in the past and I’m hoping I can have another good week this week. I played the Pro-Am, the game still felt pretty good.  

“I wouldn’t say I’m uncomfortable with the position I’m in, I just don’t see myself as anything different. It’s not something that I really worry about. I’m just trying to play good golf and the World Rankings take care of themselves if you’re able to do that. Fortunately for me, the last 14 months, I’ve been on a really good run and I’m hoping that continues.”

Hatton has a strong record at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, including a pair of top three finishes and another top ten, so he is feeling confident of a title challenge in the second event of the 2021 Race to Dubai.

The man just ahead of Hatton in the world rankings, World Number Four Collin Morikawa, makes his debut at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic but enjoyed his last visit to the Emirate – clinching a top ten at last year’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

Ryder Cup stars Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia, meanwhile, make their first appearances of the European Tour campaign as they target crucial qualification points with a view to making it onto Padraig Harrington’s European side for the September showpiece at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin.

(Text: European Tour Communications)

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European Tour

Hatton storms into five shot lead in Abu Dhabi

Hatton takes over McIlroy's lead in Round 2 (Image: Getty)

Round Two Report

Tyrrell Hatton has a fourth Rolex Series victory in his sights after opening up a commanding five shot lead on day two of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

The World Number Nine recorded an eagle – his third of the week – four birdies and a single bogey in the first 13 holes of his second round before play was suspended due to fading light just before 6pm local time.

Tyrrell Hatton: “I’m obviously in a great position at the moment. It was certainly tough out there, so I’m really happy to be five under. Holed some nice putts and there was a couple par putts toward the end of my round, nice to hole them and keep a bit of momentum going.”

The Englishman, who triumphed on home soil at the BMW PGA Championship in September for his fifth European Tour title and his third Rolex Series victory, will re-start his round at 7.30 am on Saturday as he aims to hold off a chasing pack that includes four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy.

The overnight leader slipped back to seven under par with four holes left to play of a rollercoaster second round, to sit in a tie for second alongside Jason Scrivener, Jazz Janewattananond, and Romain Langasque, who will also return to complete the round on Saturday morning.

Jason Scrivener: “It was hard work this afternoon. Had to hole a few nice par putts to keep the round going but happy with it. Put in a lot of work over the off-season and it’s nice to see it pay off this early, and yeah we look forward to the weekend.”

Two time Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Tommy Fleetwood is amongst a group of ten players at six under par after a bogey-free five under par round of 67.

Tommy Fleetwood: “I think yesterday, I struggled, like I walked off and sat there last night and talked to Finno and Tommo, and I think I just forced it a little bit.

“It was really windy going out there in tough conditions and I think I tried to force a few golf shots playing in the wind, trying too hard to hit good golf shot and didn’t do the things that we work on, really. So that was just something that we spoke about.”

(Text: European Tour Press Release)

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Top Tours

European Tour: Major surge in viewing figures for Rolex Series events

Tyrrell Hatton and Aaron Rai with their trophies. (Photo: Getty)

The European Tour’s consecutive autumn Rolex Series events recorded a significant increase in viewing figures and engagement, continuing the recent surge in consumption of live golf in 2020.  

Sky Sports, the European Tour’s UK broadcast partner, reported the highest recorded viewing figures for European Tour events since data collection began, with the tournament average figures for the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and last week’s BMW PGA Championship up 81 per cent compared to 2019.   

Englishman Aaron Rai defeated Ryder Cup star Tommy Fleetwood in a play-off at The Renaissance Club to win his first Rolex Series title at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and a week later Tyrrell Hatton claimed his third Rolex Series victory, finishing four shots clear of Frenchman Victor Perez at Wentworth Club.  

Both tournaments were played without spectators as the European Tour continues to operate a tournament bubble as part of the Tour’s health strategy based on UK government guidelines.

Instead, fans have been turning to their TVs and digital devices to stay in touch with the European Tour’s events, with the back-to-back Rolex Series events providing a premium viewer experience through enhanced broadcast and digital coverage.

Innovations included the introduction of TopTracer4K, an overall increase in the use of TopTracer to a total of nine tees, alongside the popular TopTracer fairway, enhanced augmented graphics, integrated aerial coverage from drones and the plane cam, shot by shot live statistics and enhanced audio from players and caddies. Viewers also continued to be brought closer to the action through the Sky Cart, in-round interviews and tournament winners celebrating their victories with their family via greenside video calls.

Live Golf is booming

Furthermore, highlights of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and BMW PGA Championship also proved popular on terrestrial television in the UK, with peak figures of more than 750,000 on the BBC.

In addition to bumper viewing figures, the fortnight of Rolex Series events also recorded the 2020 season’s highest social media impressions, collectively exceeding the totals from their respective 2019 editions by five per cent. 

The success of the two Rolex Series events further demonstrated the sustained boom in demand for live golf since the resumption of the 2020 European Tour season, with viewing figures for the six-tournament UK Swing in July and August 64 per cent higher than the Sky Sports 2019 average for European Tour events. 

Rufus Hack, the European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of European Tour Productions, said: “It has undoubtedly been a significant operational accomplishment to stage these events in the current circumstances and we have made a substantial investment in our health strategy to create the safest possible environment to continue providing live golf. We are therefore delighted with the response from fans on our broadcast and digital platforms, both across the two Rolex Series events which have created a real festival fortnight of golf, but also since our resumption in July. 

“We all badly missed live golf when it was suspended in April and May and these figures certainly underline the demand that exists to watch and enjoy live coverage of our sport.  Although we dearly miss fans being able to attend our events in person, through the latest innovations and with the support of our key broadcasters and partners, we are able to offer the most insightful viewer experience possible.”

Jason Wessely, Sky Sports Director of Golf said: “We’re delighted to see the continued interest in Sky Sports Golf coverage and it’s fantastic to see how many people enjoyed the two recent Rolex Series events. 

“Our team continues to work hard in testing times to bring the best golf coverage to Sky Sports subscribers and we look forward to bringing our customers plenty more world class golf in the coming weeks.”

Following the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA won by Lee Westwood in January, the Rolex Series concludes with the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai at Jumeirah Golf Estates from December 10-13. 

Alongside broadcast and digital innovations, the European Tour’s 2020 season will also continue to be underpinned by its #GolfforGood initiative, which has been raising money for charities and rewarding the true heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, David Howell’s hole-in-one at the BMW PGA Championship secured a donation of £71,675 for the tournament’s official charity, the Alzheimer’s Society, from tournament title sponsor BMW. That took the overall amount raised by #GolfforGood so far to £902,091. 

(Text: European Tour)