Rahm and Hatton welcome McIlroy’s changed stance on LIV

(L-R) Caleb Surratt, Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm and Kieran Vincent of Legion XIII GC are interviewed during a press conference before the start of the LIV Golf Mayakoba at the El Camaleón Golf Course on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Matthew Harris/LIV Golf)

New LIV Golf signings Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton last night welcomed Rory McIlroy’s call for them to be allowed to play Ryder Cup and tour events on both sides of the pond.

Speaking ahead of the new LIV Golf season which begins with the LIV Mayakoba event in Mexico tomorrow, Hatton said: “Well, I've spoken to Rory a bit in the past week and back in December. That's kind of along the lines of what he said to me. It's not a surprise to hear him say that in the media.

“Ultimately, I would like to still be able to play events on the other two tours. But we'll see how all that works out.”

Rahm, who admitted to feeling nerves as LIV Golf struggled until the last minute to secure Hatton’s signature, also welcomed McIlroy’s changed stance on removing punishments or bans for players who go to LIV.

“I haven't spoken to him a lot recently but he might have had a change in thought process, as in maybe with some of the things he said in the past,” Rahm said. 

“I think he might be seeing that the landscape of golf is changing and at some point you need to evolve. So I think he might be seeing that, and everybody is entitled to their opinion, but it's nice to have the support from a player the caliber of Rory, especially those Ryder Cup remarks he made early on. I think that's an important statement for change to be said.”

Hatton is reported to have signed for LIV close to €60m, but he insisted the team element was a factor in his last minute decision to accept.

“Yeah, definitely,” said Hatton, who has joined his Ryder Cup team mate’s Legion XIII team. “I love the Ryder Cup. I follow other sports outside of golf that are team sports. 

“You're kind of envious of those guys having that team spirit week in, week out, and that was something that was very appealing for me to come and join LIV.”

As for the announcement of the Strategic Sports Group’s $1.5 billion investment in PGA Tour Enterprises yesterday, Rahm was reluctant to comment. 

“We've had enough to think about,” Rahm said. “I was worried about maybe not having Tyrrell here this week. Yeah, that was really in the back of my mind, like really far back in my mind.

“There's a lot bigger people that are a lot smarter than me that are going to be worrying about that that actually have a say in it, and they should be thinking about it. 

“I think we're here to play golf, perform, and whatever comes comes.”