Tyrrell Hatton demands reservation for LIV Golf at the majors: "I don't see how people could argue"
LIV Golf players like Tyrrell Hatton can get into Major tournaments. It has happened all year long at all four Majors, and there were plenty present in last year's Majors as well. It is more difficult for them to get in, though. Without OWGR points, LIV players must often resort to tactics they wouldn't need to employ to qualify.
On the PGA Tour, players earn points for almost anything they do. That helps them rank well, and it leads them directly into the Majors. At his press conference, the LIV star was asked if his tour's lack of that is concerning.
Hatton said to the media, including Sportskeeda:
"I know that the guys that LIV are trying to figure it all out with the powers that be in golf. I think everyone in the golf world can agree that there's enough fantastic players on LIV that you would like to see them in the fields at Majors. Currently, obviously, they go off the world ranking system," he said [at 10:00-10:57]
He hopes from a player's perspective that something can be worked out soon:
"There's X amount of spots that LIV received to play in Majors. Just with the quality of the fields that we have, I don't see how people could argue that those guys wouldn't be deserving of a spot in those tournaments."
While there has been debate over how difficult the tour really is, its golfers have done well at the Majors. In the last two years, an LIV Golfer has won two Majors: Brooks Koepka at the 2023 PGA Championship and Bryson DeChambeau at the 2024 US Open.
How LIV Golf has fared in Majors in 2023, 2024
With the Open Championship concluding several days ago, the Major schedule for men's golf has finished. The next one won't be until the Masters in April 2025. In the last two seasons, LIV Golf has done well there.
In the 2023 Masters Tournament, both Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson tied for second place. Patrick Reed tied for fourth as well. Koepka won the PGA that year, but DeChambeau was tied for fourth. Cameron Smith was in the top 10 as well.
While the 2023 US Open was not won by a LIV player, Smith was in fourth place. Dustin Johnson also finished in the top 10. The 2023 Open Championship saw Henrik Stenson and Tyrrell Hatton in the top 20.
In 2024 at the Masters, DeChambeau and Smith were tied for sixth. Hatton joined in the top 10, and Reed was in the top 12. DeChambeau was second in the PGA Championship, and Dean Burmester was top 12.
DeChambeau won the US Open, but Sergio Garcia was in the top 12 as well. Finally, the Open Championship in 2024 saw Jon Rahm finish tied for seventh.