LIV lands $96m coup just before season opener as Ryder Cup star defects
Another golf star has landed at LIV Golf (UK), world number 16 Tyrrell Hatton has signed a deal worth up to £50m ($96m), according to the Telegraph.
Talk is possible as early as tomorrow, with Hatton pulling out of the $20 million PGA Tour AT&T Championship at Pebble Beach, where he was scheduled to play starting Thursday.
Hatton, 32, the highest British player to join the LIV, will play for his new team managed by Jon Rahm and could make his debut in Mexico when the season opens at El Camaleon Golf Club on Friday.
Rahm joined LIV last month for £450m and will be reunited with his Ryder Cup teammate from Europe, who has been very strong since Europe’s defeat in the US last year.
The passionate duo were quickly dubbed ‘Team Angry’ after their outburst in Rome but have now been sidelined by bosses at LIV, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
“I have contacted Tyrrell’s manager and Tyrrell’s manager. Most of the time they would be happy to answer me, but that’s not the case. They usually push fake news, which wasn’t the case in this case, so there’s no smoke without fire,” he said.
“When it was announced that Jon Rahm was joining LIV, we had the opportunity to report that Hatton’s first goal was going to join to his new team called Legion XIII and now he has achieved that goal.
“Hatton was his partner in the Ryder Cup. They managed the European team together on Friday mornings, scored goals and were close friends. They have similar characteristics on the golf course and I think Rahm brought that to his team.
Hatton is the main LIV’s target this season after Rahm left and failed to sign two other European Ryder Cup stars in Tommy Fleetwood and Nicolai Højgaard.Poland’s world number 39 Adrian Meronk is one of LIV’s key signings ahead of the new campaign
The Telegraph reports Hatton rejected LIV’s offer last month but agreed to provide an update after a phone call with Rahm.
The move means Hatton, like Rahm, will have to sit out Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s first TGL season, as only PGA Tour players are invited.
The cost of this move is unclear. However, Hatton nearly tripled his career earnings by joining LIV. He earned A$33 million from 128 outings.
Hatton won six times on the DP World Tour and once on the PGA Tour, but did not win an individual tournament in the three years.
But he is coming off a strong 2023 tournament in which he finished second in the championship at TPC Sawgrass..
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