Hatton takes the trophy

Hatton triumphs in Dubai

Tyrrell Hatton excelled as he made his way around the DP World Tour’s annual Dubai Desert Classic. The 33-year-old reached 15-under-par come the end of the Sunday to pull one stroke ahead of New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier to claim the trophy.

Having played steadily well all week, Hatton had overcome the likes of Laurie Canter and Rory McIlroy to trail Hillier by one shot come the end of the Saturday. A thrilling final round saw the pair closely fight for the win with Hatton gaining the upper hand on the back 9.

Hatton was leading by two strokes when he took to the final 18^th hole. Hillier birdied the hole to put pressure on the Englishman, but Hatton kept his nerve and finished the hole with a steady par, keeping Hillier out of any chance of forcing a playoff.

Tyrrell Hatton was understandably thrilled to have won his first individual tournament of the year. “But it feels amazing. I said earlier in the week that this is an event you would love to have on your CV so to add my name to that list of amazing champions is a dream come true.”

Rory misses out on hat-trick

Rory is no stranger to winning on the DP World Tour circuit having won multiple Race to Dubai titles. He also won both the 2023 and 2024 Dubai Desert Classic events putting additional pressure on him to try for a hat-trick.

While he fell short of the lead, a final charge Sunday back-9 that included 5 birdies allowed McIlroy to finish in joint-fourth with Niklas Norgaard.

Despite having missed out on winning this year’s Dubai Desert Classic, McIlroy heaped praise on Hatton “He’s become very consistent. He does things his way. He hits the ball very straight, he doesn’t try to shape it really one way or another…He also doesn’t give a flying fig what anyone else thinks which is a really good attribute to have in the game.” 

A Ryder Cup return?

Given his recent form, Hatton is certainly a solid name to back ahead of this year’s four major championships. However, since he plays on the LIV Tour, Hatton will only be able to earn Ryder Cup points through his performances at the big tournaments.

He did not lose a match in the 2023 Ryder Cup and won 3.5 points for Europe. Given his popularity and successes, Hatton is a favourite to again represent Europe at this year’s Ryder Cup; He’s expected to enter the team either as an automatic qualifier, or failing that as Luke Donald’s captain’s pick.

“This event and the four majors this year are massive for me to try and earn as many points as I can to try and be an automatic qualifier, so that is a big step in the right direction.”

How do you think Europe will fare at this year’s Ryder Cup? If you’re heading out on the course yourself this week, be sure to pop by the pro shop for a chat. We have all sorts of equipment in stock to keep you happy on the golf course.