European Ryder Cup star handed olive branch for 2025 hopes

Tyrrell Hatton has received a major boost to his hopes of playing in next year’s Ryder Cup after being selected for a competition seen as an audition for Luke Donald’s European team.

Englishman Hatton has appeared in the last three Ryder Cups but looked to have burnt his bridges by accepting a big-money offer to join LIV Golf for the 2024 season.

His inclusion in the Great Britain and Ireland side to face Continental Europe at the Team Cup in January, however, suggests that the 33-year-old is back in Donald’s thoughts.

Hatton was sanctioned by the DP World Tour for defecting to LIV Golf but appealed, freeing him up to play lucrative end-of-season tournaments on the European circuit.

His results have lifted him to third in Europe’s Ryder Cup rankings, which will determine six of Donald’s 12-man team for the match at Bethpage Black, New York.

Former world No1 Jon Rahm has also appealed his sanctions for joining LIV Golf, while fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia has paid more than €1m in fines to be eligible for the Ryder Cup. 

Garcia, 44, must first serve a ban and so is not in Francesco Molinari’s Continental Europe side, which features the Hojgaard brothers and Mathieu Pavon, at the Team Cup.

Justin Rose has picked Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Wallace, Aaron Rai and Tom McKibbin alongside Hatton in his Great Britain and Ireland team for the event in Abu Dhabi.

It comes as talks over a merger of interests between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf continune, almost 18 months after they were first announced.

“This event provided valuable insight for a number of players who eventually made it to Marco Simone, with six of the 20 competitors in 2023 going on to play in the Ryder Cup, three of those making their debut appearances,” said Donald.

“We’re excited to see who can make their mark next year as they try and earn a place in my side for New York.”