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Rory McIlroy with a changed attitude towards LIV Golf

As the LIV Golf Tour unveiled a new team just ahead of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, boasting the likes of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, Rory McIlroy shared his thoughts on these significant player migrations. McIlroy, a staunch supporter of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, surprised many with his altered perspective on players making the transition to LIV Golf.

Rory McIlroy: “At the end of the day, everyone has to do what’s right for them.”

Days before teeing off at the iconic Pebble Beach Links in California, McIlroy delved into the topic during a press conference on Tuesday. Expressing his views on Tyrrell Hatton’s move, McIlroy emphasized the importance of each golfer making decisions that align with their personal journey. “At the end of the day, everyone has to do what’s right for them. I had a lengthy conversation with Tyrrell on Sunday, and I completely understand where he’s coming from. They’ve reached a point in negotiations where he feels comfortable. He has to do what he believes is right, so I won’t stand in anyone’s way of making a living. And if they view it as life-changing money, absolutely,” McIlroy stated.

The multiple Major-winner also touched upon the topic of potential sanctions for players looking to return to their original tours. McIlroy firmly stood against punitive measures, advocating for mutual understanding and collaboration between tours to propel the sport forward. This marked a significant departure from his earlier stance, as McIlroy emphasized his changed perspective, fueled by a desire to ensure the best for the sport as a whole.

Justin Thomas on the latest additions to LIV Golf: “I’m done with it”

Adding to the discourse, Justin Thomas shared his thoughts on the recent influx of players into LIV Golf during the Pebble Beach event. “I feel like at this point, I’m done with it. It is what it is,” Thomas commented. Reflecting on the diversity of opinions surrounding the moves, he acknowledged that people make decisions based on what they believe is best for them. While expressing disappointment over Hatton’s departure, Thomas displayed understanding and refrained from passing judgment, acknowledging the individuality of each player’s choices.

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Live

Tyrrell Hatton to LIV Golf? The Brit could become Rahm’s new team member

Tyrrell Hatton could be the latest and possibly last addition for the 2024 LIV Golf season. At least that’s what the British newspaper The Telegraph reports. According to the newspaper, Hatton has joined Jon Rahm’s new LIV Golf team and signed a contract worth 50 million pounds (approx. 58.6 million euros).

Tyrrell Hatton in talks with LIV Golf

Tyrrell Hatton, ranked 16th in the world, would be a high-calibre addition to the league and has already gained experience with Jon Rahm as a team-mate, most recently at the Ryder Cup in Rome, where Rahm and Hatton competed successfully together. This is another reason why rumours about Hatton have persisted for weeks. When asked about this at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, he confirmed that he had held talks with LIV Golf, but also that he is still happy with his place on the traditional tours at the moment.

“I would say there are several people who have had conversations,” Hatton said in Dubai. “I think that’s part of golf at the moment, but I’m very happy playing on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.”

Hatton’s move would also be a very last-minute one, as the LIV golf season starts this week in Mexico. According to the Telegraph, the Briton is also set to make his debut on the new tour there. Hatton is currently still listed in the field for this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. There has been no official announcement from Hatton, LIV Golf or Jon Rahm and his “Legion XIII” team regarding this new addition.

Speculation about new LIV Golf members

The same applies to almost all of the newcomers who are expected to fill the open spots in the 13 teams. Not even the team name for Rahm’s team has been officially confirmed at the moment, but there is speculation that Kieran Vincent, who qualified for the league via the LIV Promotions event, and amateur Caleb Surratt will join the team alongside Hatton.

The transfer of Adrian Meronk to LIV Golf, who is to find a place in Martin Kaymer’s Cleeks, has also allegedly been confirmed by Sports Illustrated. What is certain is that the Cleeks will be strengthened by Kalle Samooja alongside Kaymer and Richard Bland, as the captain himself confirmed in an interview with the National Club Golfer. Like Vincent, Samooja had also qualified via the promotional event. The third qualifier, Jinichiro Kozuma, is to be accommodated at Kevin Nas Iron Heads. Australian Lucas Herbert is also rumoured to be joining Cam Smith’s all-Australian Rippers team.

Most of these speculations should either be confirmed or proved wrong with the start of the LIV golf season on 2 February in Mexico.

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Professionals

Adrian Meronk Rumored to Move to LIV Golf League

Just recently, Adrian Meronk was named Player of the Year by his DP World Tour peers, but now the Polish golfer appears to be considering a move to the LIV Golf League. Meronk, who recently became a full-fledged member of the PGA Tour, is absent from the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, officially citing health reasons. However, speculations quickly arose linking his absence to a potential impending transfer.

Adrian Meronk set to join the Cleeks

Despite improving his world ranking to 39th after a strong performance in Dubai and securing a second-place finish at the Dubai Desert Classic, it seems the 30-year-old has made the decision to explore new opportunities. Initially reported by The Times in London, there are now numerous corroborating reports confirming Meronk’s imminent joining of Martin Kaymer’s Cleeks team. The Cleeks had a disappointing season on the LIV Tour, leading to the non-renewal of contracts with Bernd Wiesberger and Graeme McDowell. With the potential addition of Adrian Meronk, Team Captain Kaymer seems to have found a prominent player to fill one of the two vacant positions. A move to LIV Golf would likely result in Meronk being suspended from the PGA Tour before officially playing a round as a tour member.

However, Meronk isn’t the only player considering a move to LIV Golf. Rumors suggest that Tyrrell Hatton, ranked 16th in the world, might also be contemplating joining the LIV Golf League. Although Hatton emphasized his commitment to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour last weekend in Dubai, LIV Golf seems to have renewed interest in the Ryder Cup player. An insider revealed that a deal with Hatton, strengthening Jon Rahm’s team, is imminent but not officially confirmed.

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Professionals

World Golf Ranking: UK Players in the spotlight

Scottie Scheffler remains the leading player in the World Golf Ranking. The best UK-Player is Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland, who is unchallenged in second place in the rankings.

Top UK Names in the World Golf Ranking

The subsequent group of UK players sees a shuffle in the World Golf Ranking. While England’s Tyrrell Hatton rises to the 12th spot putting pressure on the Top Ten, Matt Fitzpatrick loses his 7th spot to Max Homa, who won the Nedbank Golf Challenge on the DP World Tour in South Africa.

Tommy Fleetwood remains steady at the 15th spot. The next UK Player in the Ranking is Shane Lowry at the 35th spot.

The Power of Three: Top of the World Golf Ranking

Back at the forefront of the World Golf Ranking, Spain’s Jon Rahm at 3rd consolidates his reputation as a true golf titan. He joins Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in the foremost trio.

The World Golf Ranking is no stranger to twists and shifts in the top 10. From America, Max Homa’s upward swing garners him the 7th position, showcasing an evident advancement compared to last week. However, Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark from the USA hold their spots, sitting comfortably at 9th and 10th respectively.

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Highlights Tours

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

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.

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”

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.

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

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

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

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

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: