Tyrrell Hatton reflects on dealing with $100M LIV golfer's last-minute replacement at the Team Championship
Tyrrell Hatton opened up about Jon Rahm's last-minute replacement at the 2024 LIV Golf Team Championship. The Spanish golfer, who has a net worth of $100 million (as per Celebrity Net Worth), was supposed to compete in the semifinals of the team championship, but due to health issues, he withdrew from the competition. John Catlin joined Legion XIII in the semifinals to play in Rahm's place.
Despite the captain missing from the field, Legion XIII played well on Saturday and won their match against HyFlyers to advance to the finals on Sunday. During the press conference on Saturday, Tyrrell Hatton was asked about the last-minute replacement and how the team dealt with the key player missing from the field.
Speaking of the two-time Major winner, Hatton acknowledged it was "unfortunate" that Rahm did not play in the semifinals and prayed for his speedy recovery.
"When I woke up this morning, I was under the impression that Jon would be playing today. Arriving to the golf course and seeing him, it was apparent that he just wasn't going to be up to it, which was unfortunate. I think we all kind of wish him well and want him to get back healthy as soon as possible," Tyrell Hatton said.
"I mean, it would have been nice to have him playing today. He's a pretty special player. But ultimately we kind of -- that aside, we still have to go out there and give it our best, and thankfully we were able to advance to tomorrow," he added.
In the semifinals of the LIV Golf Team Championship, there were two singles head-to-head matches and one foursome match. Legion XIII won one singles match and the foursome to win the overall event.
"The guys have done very well"- Tyrrell Hatton on Legion XIII's strong semifinal performance at the 2024 LIV Golf Team Championship
Legion XIII put forward a strong performance in the semifinals of the Team Championship. Only Rahm's replacement, Catlin, lost his match against Cameron Tringale from the Hyflyers side in the semifinals.
Tyrrell Hatton competed in singles against Andy Ogletree and won by 5&4, while Caleb Surratt and Kieran Vincent teamed up to compete against Phil Mickelson and Brendan Steele for the foursome match, adding another point to their team scores with a marvelous victory by 4&3.
Tyrell Hatton opened up about his team's win in the foursome match and praised Surratt and Vincent for their amazing game. He said (via ASAP Sports):
"They've done well today. Obviously I was keeping an eye on the scoreboard today to see what was happening in the other two matches, and yeah, they got off to a nice start.
"I think looking at how they actually scored, as well, they didn't really good many holes away. That's key in match play and especially in foursomes. They've done a great job today, and I'm sure they'll take some confidence from that into tomorrow," Tyrell Hatton added.
Heading into the final on Sunday, Legion XIII will play for the championship team title against Ripper GC, 4 Aces, and Iron Heads. Meanwhile, the losing teams will also tee off on Sunday, competing for 5th to 8th place, and the quarterfinal-losing teams will play for 9th to 13th positions.