Rory McIlroy hailed LIV Golf’s Tyrrell Hatton as “a massive asset” to Europe’s Ryder Cup team and urged him to never change his fiery temper after the English star’s one-shot win in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic sent him to the top of the qualifying charts.
McIlroy was bidding for his fifth win at Emirates Golf Club and his third in a row, and while he left himself too much to do before closing with a six-under 66 to tie for fourth, three shots behind Hatton, he was pleased to see his Ryder Cup team-mate claim his fifth Rolex Series title by a shot from Kiwi Daniel Hillier on 15-under-par.
“He does not give a flying fig what anyone thinks of him, he has b***s and is a massive asset for our Ryder Cup team,” McIlroy said of the temperamental Hatton, who was told by officials after Saturday’s third round that he would be fined for smashing a tee marker.
“Not caring about other people’s opinions of you is a really good attribute to have in the game.”
McIlroy and Tom McKibbin mounted final round challenges but they couldn’t do enough to stop Hatton, who came from a shot behind Hillier, carding a 69 to the New Zealander’s 71 to win for the second time since Ryder Cup qualifying began to jump to eighth in the world and to the top of the Ryder Cup qualifying table.
He had to make a tricky six-footer for par on the final green to get over the line in what was his final DP World Tour event until the Amgen Irish Open at The K Club when Ryder Cup qualifying will be over.
Currently appealing DP World Tour fines, he will have only the four Majors to win one of six automatic spots on the European team that will be bidding to become the first to win an away Ryder Cup since 2012.
“I’m not sure what is going to happen with the (LIV fines) appeal, but I hope my commitment to this Tour is clear,” Hatton said.
“I’ve made no secret how much the Ryder Cup means, and this gives me a chance to qualify automatically again.
“I’ve still got the four Majors to continue earning points for the Ryder Cup. It’s no secret that I really want to be on that team. I’ve automatically qualified for the previous three Ryder Cups, and I’d love to be able to keep that streak going.”
Hatton has bucked the trend by improving his world ranking since jumping to LIV 12 months previously, but it remains to be seen what the future holds for McKibbin.
Bar a late change of heart, he appears destined to join Rahm and Hatton on the Legion XIII for LIV’s February 6 restart but left Dubai feeling good about his game after impressing Ryder Cup watchers by following an opening 70 with three 69s to finish four behind in a tie for sixth.
“Pretty good, pretty pleased with that result,” said McKibbin, who will be targeting more Ryder Cup points at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship having added 20 yards to his drives thanks to a new ball-driver combination.
“It was a very good week, first stroke play event of the year on a very difficult golf course, and to play it this way, I’m very happy.
“I drove the ball really good this week, hitting it a lot further, and I was very good out of the rough. I’ve struggled here in the past, out of this sort of long rough, and I’ve gotten a lot better out of it.”
Like McKibbin, who birdied two of his first three holes, McIlroy briefly got to within two shots of Hatton with a birdie at the 16th but he was pleased in the end with his 12th successive top-10 in the event.
“I probably just left myself a bit too much to do after three days,” he said after finishing three behind. “I had chances and I was burning the edges.
“Felt like I putted pretty well without anything going in, and then today, I didn’t really feel like I played that differently to the way I played the last few days; I just holed a couple of putts and made a couple of good up-and-downs when I had to.
“I feel like I got progressively better as the week went on, which bodes well for obviously the next few weeks.”
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s Cameron Clark, Kilkenny’s Gary Murphy and Waterville’s David Higgins made the 54-hole cut at the Legends Tour Qualifying School in Turkey to secure Category 10 membership for 2025.
Clark shot 70 at Gloria Resort to share third place on 11-under, six shots behind runaway leader Matthew Cort heading into the final round battle for just five cards.
Murphy shot 70 to share 16th on four-under, six shots outside the top five, with Higgins a shot further back after a 73.