LIV Golf star Tyrrell Hatton has come out swinging in defence of his Legion XIII teammate Jon Rahm, insisting the Spaniard harbours no regrets over his high-profile defection from the PGA Tour to the controversial LIV league.
In a seismic shift that rocked the golfing world, Rahm made headlines in December 2023 by switching allegiances to the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV league, pocketing an eye-watering £403million ($500m) for his leap. The move was expected to signal a new era for golf, but instead, it's been marred by plummeting TV ratings and a bitter split within the sport, drawing sharp criticism towards Rahm.
The LIV Golf series, which teed off in June 2022, has seen its players barred from PGA Tour events, fuelling a fiery rift. Yet Hatton, who himself jumped ship to LIV in January 2024 with a lucrative £25.8m ($32m) deal, is adamant that Rahm has no second thoughts about leaving the PGA behind, with ten words he believes put to bed any rumours of Rahm's self-doubt.
"Forgive me saying this but that is just media bull****," Hatton said in a candid interview with The Mail. "People showed me some of the stuff that was written, but from being around Jon that's never even been a thought process that crossed my mind. He's really enjoyed it and he has certainly played some pretty good golf."
Despite clinching the LIV individual championship in his first season, Rahm hasn't escaped the firing line. Golf commentator Brandel Chamblee recently aimed a jab at him on social media, accusing the 30-year-old of "self-delusion", reports the Irish Star.
"This past year, after Jon Rahm's defection to LIV in late 2023, the dominos were supposed to fall, forcing the hand of the PGA Tour, a deal between the two tours was presumed to be imminent. Now as a golfer, Rahm has many talents but none seem to exceed his gift for self-delusion," Chamblee wrote on X.
Whispers about Rahm's wavering commitment to the LIV league started to circulate rapidly last year. A 'veteran tour insider' told Golf Digest magazine that they were "100 percent confident" that Rahm would return to the PGA Tour if he could, however, the 2023 Masters champion categorically distanced himself from such speculation.
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"There's zero validity to what any of that said," Rahm told the New York Post. "I don't know where it came from. I don't know why they feel the need to say that some of us are unhappy when we're not. It's one of the things that frustrates me a little bit, the fact that they can claim that there's a source and there's zero truth to it."
Hatton, whose Legion XIII team finished runners-up in the LIV Golf standings, holds a contrasting view of events compared to the current public perception surrounding the league. "It's been a good year," he said.
"It's been very different from what I've known and it also brought uncertainties. Because if I didn't play well, I knew there was a possibility I wouldn't be in the majors in 2025. That was a scary thought."
Hatton also admitted that he initially rejected the league's advances, only to then have a change of heart. "It was a big decision," he said. "I’d said no initially in December and then during the Dubai Desert Classic (in January) everything flipped. My head was a bit all over the place and it was a weird time.
"Like I said, it was a bit scary, thinking of what you are risking, but honestly, looking back a year on, it has been great how it has played out."
While some of LIV's bigger stars have taken the brunt of flak for crossing over from the PGA, Hatton has opened up on the abuse he endured for making the switch. He also discussed the extreme steps he took to preserve his mental well-being.
"There was negativity on social media and I actually deleted it off my phone," he said. "I was a bit fed up with it anyway and that was the tipping point. "I didn't feel I needed the negativity from people I have never met, but who think they've got a right to message things that aren't very nice. We're all human and I just don't need that from people who should have no influence on how I feel."
Looking ahead, Hatton has his sights set on earning his spot at the Ryder Cup this September. However, his commitment to LIV Golf complicates the aspiration, as he faces sanctions from the DP World Tour for participating in LIV events that clashed with its schedule in 2024.
The schism within the sport remains persistent. Merger negotiations have been meandering for 18 months, yet a resolution seems to evade grasp, and Hatton has conceded that the status quo is currently untenable.
"Something needs to happen pretty quickly," he said. "Golf fans in general are pretty fed up with how it's played out and how it's continuing to drag on."
