Tommy Fleetwood turned down LIV Golf to stay on the PGA Tour alongside the likes of Rory McIlroy, but compatriot Tyrrell Hatton is now the Saudi-backed tour’s top target ahead of the 2024 season
LIV Golf officials are targeting Tyrrell Hatton as the Saudi-backed breakaway tour’s next marquee signing after both Tommy Fleetwood and Nicolai Hojgaard spurned offers in favour of remaining on the PGA Tour.
Even though several celebrities signed on for enormous sums of money, many golfers voiced their opposition to LIV Golf since its contentious launch two years ago. However, last month saw Jon Rahm become the most well-known player to abandon the PGA Tour in favor of the contentious LIV Golf series, which is supported by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
In anticipation of the 2024 season, which gets underway in Mexico, LIV Golf is trying to add more big names to its roster. The PGA Tour and DP World Tour are currently engaged in merger negotiations with PIF. The Telegraph claims that after Fleetwood and Hojgaard declined lucrative contracts to follow Rahm, Hatton might be the next in line.
Hatton has not yet received an official bid, but there have supposedly been discussions between LIV Golf and the Englishman. If this is accurate, it indicates that since Europe’s victory in the Ryder Cup four months ago in Rome, Greg Norman’s series has attempted to convince a number of players on Luke Donald’s team.
Following Rahm’s transfer to LIV Golf, which could fetch the 29-year-old up to £450 million, Rory McIlroy took to Twitter to demand that the Ryder Cup regulations be altered to allow the Spaniard to compete in New York. Although Rahm is still technically eligible due to his DP World Tour membership, he will face a barrage of fines and suspensions after participating inthe 14 LIV Golf events in 2024
If players from Europe signed with LIV Golf, they would have a similar fate as Hatton under the current regulations. After forming a productive partnership with Rahm during the Ryder Cup, the Englishman was probably the target.
LIV Golf has typically used ostentatious sums of money to entice players from the PGA Tour, even in cases where they have been rejected. Before he committed to the PGA Tour, American sensation Tony Finau, along with Fleetwood and Hojgaard, nearly reached an agreement with Rahm’s Legion XIII GC.
Hatton is playing in the Dubai Desert Classic right now at The Emirates Club. The 32-year-old shot an outstanding 68 to climb up the leaderboard and is now sitting at two under at the halfway point.
American Cameron Young, ranked 25th in the world, is in the lead after shooting a fantastic 64 on Friday. Before the action this weekend, Andy Sullivan of England and Adrian Meronk of Poland are tied for second place on 10-under, while Young leads by three shots at 13-under despite a bogey on the 18th.
