Tyrrell Hatton secured a five-stroke victory at the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates after shooting a six-under-par 66 in the final round. Following his win, the Englishman outlined his ambitions to secure a place in the European Ryder Cup team and contend for major titles next season.
Ryder Cup Ambitions and Praise for McIlroy
Hatton’s ninth DP World Tour title followed a second-place finish at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship the previous week. Having played predominantly on the LIV Golf circuit this year, he entered the season-ending play-offs outside the top 50 but completed the DP World Tour campaign in third place in the Race to Dubai standings, behind Rory McIlroy and Eugenio Chacarra.
The performance moved Hatton up to second position in the European Ryder Cup rankings ahead of next year’s centenary match at Adare Manor in Ireland. The Englishman stressed the importance of gaining points to earn automatic inclusion in captain Luke Donald’s lineup.
“It’s an important time to try and earn Ryder Cup points,” Hatton said after victory. “This [winning] helps a lot. I want to be on that team in a year’s time. The last two weeks have been great, so I’m really proud of that.”
Hatton also praised McIlroy, who clinched the overall Race to Dubai title to equal Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight titles. Describing McIlroy as one of Europe’s greatest golfers, Hatton stated that he hopes to participate in his fifth Ryder Cup alongside him in Ireland.
Major Aspirations and Tour Reactions
Hatton recorded two top-seven finishes in majors this season, tying for third at The Masters and finishing tied for seventh at the US Open. He emphasized his long-standing desire to win a major championship and noted that his performances in those tournaments have steadily improved.
His win in Dubai marks the fourth victory in six DP World Tour events by former LIV Golf players, joining titles won by Adrian Meronk at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Chacarra at the DP World Tour India Championship, and Jon Rahm in Abu Dhabi.
McIlroy welcomed the return of Hatton and Rahm to the European circuit, noting that automatic qualification by top-tier players helps strengthen the European side.
“For the Ryder Cup team and points, you want guys like Tyrrell [Hatton] and Jon [Rahm] and that calibre of player to make the team automatically, so that Luke wouldn’t have to waste a pick on them, essentially,” McIlroy explained. “I always see these things through the lens of the Ryder Cup and it’s great that they are back on the DP World Tour. It’s great that they don’t have the noise that they were dealing with over the past few months. They can just focus on their games and get back to what they love doing.”
Assessing the victory, former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley told Sky Sports that Hatton’s golf quality across driving, iron play, chipping, and putting makes him a complete player who has consistently delivered high performance in Europe.
The new DP World Tour campaign is set to begin at the BMW Australian PGA Championship at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney from November 26 to 29. McIlroy is scheduled to compete next at the Capital.com Australian Open in Melbourne from December 3 to 6.
