With LIV Golf as we know it consigned to history, Legion XIII star Tyrrell Hatton is focused on getting back to winning ways in familiar surroundings.
Tyrrell Hatton returns to the Home of Golf looking to add a fourth Dunhill Links Championship to his ever-growing trophy cabinet.
The Englishman, who is one of only two players, alongside Padraig Harrington, to have won the popular pro-am at least twice, is in the fourth of a run that will see him play seven DP World Tour events between LIV Golf’s last stand in Indianapolis and the European circuit’s season-ending playoffs.
Of course, there were questions about his future on LIV. As it stands, the league’s officials are scrambling to obtain funding for a sixth season following the decision by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to withdraw its lofty financial backing.
But Hatton, as is so often the case, was largely unfazed.
“There’s nothing I can add,” he replied when asked about ‘LIV 2.0’. “As I said at the British Masters, I’ve got tournaments on the DP World Tour here for this week, next week in Madrid and then Abu Dhabi and Dubai. So I’ve got enough to get ready for. I’ve always said I’ve been committed to keeping my membership here. That doesn’t change.”
Intriguingly, though, Hatton also noted that he has “enough people in the background doing what they need to do and that’s all there is to it”. Whether that’s working on a future with LIV remains to be seen, but given his walk-on music in Indianapolis was Queen’s I Want to Break Free, it’s not likely.
With PGA Tour commissioner Brian Rolapp reiterating his stance that there will be no repeat of the deal that saw Brooks Koepka allowed to pick up his card, Hatton – who is the 10th highest earner in LIV Golf history at just shy of $44 million – will see his PGA Tour ban lifted in August next year.
For now, though, the 34-year-old is happy back on his original domain.
Hatton is one of a number of former and current LIV golfers teeing up at the Dunhill Links – notably Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, who performed a U-turn and paid their outstanding fines.
“Those guys have had amazing careers,” Hatton noted. “It’s good to see them playing this week. Obviously they have not played that much over the last four or five years for various reasons but I think of what they have achieved and the amount of tournaments they have played on the DP World Tour.”
And if you’re wondering why Hatton’s Dunhill Links record – which includes three wins and three runners-up finishes – is so much better than his Open record of MC-MC-T11 at St Andrews, he had this to say: “Well, they’re completely different golf courses.”
He added: “It’s slightly more relaxed this week, which I think probably helps me out a little bit. We all know that I can get pretty frustrated on the golf course. So the fact that it’s a little more chilled out serves me well.
“And the burgers and the donuts halfway round add a nice touch to the week.”
The 2026 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship will get underway at 9am on Thursday morning, with the 168 pros each teaming up with an amateur to take on the famous Old Course, as well as Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.