Tyrrell Hatton tells LIV Golf major change to venue must be made after gutting miss

Tyrrell Hatton expressed his frustration with the 18th hole layout at JCB Golf & Country Club after narrowly missing out on victory at LIV Golf United Kingdom. Hatton’s teammate, Jon Rahm, ultimately took the title.

Hatton has urged LIV Golf to tweak the layout of the 18th hole at JCB Golf & Country Club for next year’s tournament. The 32-year-old was beaten to the title by one shot, losing to his Legion XIII teammate Jon Rahm after making a bogey on the last hole. Rahm had set the clubhouse lead at 13-under-par, securing his first win in 15 months. Hatton, Joaquin Niemann, and Cam Smith all finished tied for second place.

A par on the 18th would have been enough for Hatton to force a playoff. However, his tee shot landed in the first cut of rough. Consequently, he came up short with his approach, leaving the ball on the front of the green with a long, challenging putt over a ridge. Hatton’s first putt leaked to the left, leaving a difficult five-foot putt for par, which agonizingly slipped past the cup, giving Rahm the victory. Hatton, a three-time Ryder Cup veteran, also regretted an earlier error from the fairway on the sixth hole that led to a double bogey.

When asked about his bogey on the last hole, Hatton criticized the layout of the 18th hole, calling for changes before next year’s tournament. He claimed that every player in the field would likely agree with him. The 462-yard par four requires a blind tee shot over trees to a split fairway that doglegs to the left and climbs uphill to a two-tier green. Hatton’s tee shot, which he believed was perfect, ended up trickling into the rough, which he found unfair.

“I’ve hit a perfect tee shot over the line that we’re all meant to hit,” Hatton remarked. “I’d say probably the 18th is one hole that I think 54 players would like to see changed before we come back next year. I don’t think the tee shot that I hit there deserves to be in the semi and I’m playing a guessing game if it’s going to come out with no spin or with spin. Obviously, I guessed wrong and it leaves it in a really tricky position to two-putt, and unfortunately wasn’t able to hole that five-footer to force a playoff. Yeah, it sucks.”

Despite missing individual victory, Hatton’s team, Legion XIII, won their fourth title of the season. Hatton, Rahm, Caleb Surratt, and Kieran Vincent each earned £584,000 in prize money. Hatton also received £1.23 million for his second-place finish, but this did little to console him after missing the chance to win on home soil.

“It’s obviously still pretty raw for me as an individual,” Hatton said. “It’s kind of hard to put that to one side. Golf is generally an individual sport, and ultimately your individual results will reflect what happens within the team. I’m really happy for the guys to have a solid weekend and for us to win our fourth event as a team, but it doesn’t change how I feel towards my own individual performance. It sucks to bogey the last in front of your home crowd to effectively miss out on a playoff. That’s unfortunately the reality of my situation at the moment.”