Will Tyrrell Hatton’s DP World Tour Win Bring More Cooperation With LIV Golf?

The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, an annual pro-am stop on the DP World Tour, had somewhat unprecedented attention in the U.S. this weekend, as big names from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf took part.

Joining Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, and Billy Horschel were 14 members of LIV – many there on special invitation by tournament organizer Johan Rupert. 

It’s also believed that Rupert brought PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan together as amateur participants. 

On the course, Tyrrell Hatton, one of England’s most popular golfers and having just finished his first season on the LIV tour, emerged victorious in this event. That qualified him for the season-ending DPWT tournament in Dubai. Over the past year, Joaquin Niemann and Dean Burmester also won DPWT events that allowed them to play in major tournaments in 2024.

Lost for words! To win for a third time at @dunhilllinks playing alongside my dad is very cool.
Thank you for all the support this week & a big thank you to the @DPWorldTour & all the amazing team at @alfreddunhill.
A very special tournament at the @TheHomeofGolf. 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/lNnWK9LVcx

— Tyrrell Hatton (@TyrrellHatton) October 7, 2024

Hatton improved his Official World Golf Ranking from 38th to 20th, and is now fifth in Ryder Cup points.

Hatton said:

“It’s a Ryder Cup year. I want to earn as many points as I possibly can, and you know, I’m committed to try my best to earn the points that I need to be on that team.”

So the question is whether the DPWT being more relaxed about LIV Golf stars participating will lead to more cooperation between the tours, or if it will force the PGA Tour to make a deal with the PIF after making a “framework agreement” in June 2023. 

After finishing his round on Sunday, McIlroy took a jab at the PGA Tour while praising the recent DPWT events he participated in:

“I appreciate these events more as I get older. The one thing that I love when I come back here is the tournaments just feel a little more authentic and purer and not as corporate. Compared to the three FedEx Cup Playoff events (on the PGA Tour), the crowds at the Irish Open and Wentworth, even here as well, were bigger and the atmosphere was better.”

McIlroy said last week that he expected the deal to be finalized by the end of the year, but this past weekend gave us a glimpse as to what a united game of golf will look like. 

Cover Image via The Independent