Tyrrell Hatton won at St. Andrews in dramatic fashion, making a birdie on the 18th hole to eclipse Nicolas Colsaerts by a stroke.
But his historic victory on The Old Course also gives him a Ryder Cup lifeline. He now has amassed enough DP World Tour points to play in the final two events of the season, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. The top 70 players qualify for Abu Dhabi, while the top 50 advance to Dubai. They are also Rolex Series Events, where the DP World Tour awards 2,000 Ryder Cup points to players in those fields. Only 1,000 points are up for grabs at regular DP World Tour events, such as this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
“I’m so happy I’ve got my place booked in Dubai,” Hatton said.
“When I teed off last week at the Spanish Open, I knew that I needed probably at least a second to have a chance. Actually, I was meant to be going to Fitzy’s wedding the week in [Andalucía Masters], and I messaged him a few weeks ago, and I was like, if I don’t have enough points, I might not be able to go, and I felt so bad about that. I guess having a little extra motivation to play well.
Due to his affiliation with LIV Golf, Hatton did not have the necessary points to qualify for the final two events of the season. But that all changed this week with his win.
He began the season by playing in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January but then jumped to LIV.
Hatton returned to the DP World Tour in August, playing in the Betfried British Masters, where he tied for 18th. He then tied for 10th at last week’s Spanish Open, thus earning even more valuable points. Even though he now plays for the Saudi-backed circuit, Hatton did not rescind his DP World Tour membership and is therefore obligated to play in at least four events per season. But his win at St. Andrews marked his fourth event of the year, as he leaped up to 16th in the Race to Dubai standings.
Now he can attend Matt Fitzpatrick’s wedding without any stress, knowing he has his spot secured in the Middle East. But he can rest easy since he also earned valuable Ryder Cup points. He now ranks fifth among the European team, sitting behind only Rasmus Højgaard, Rory McIlroy, Matt Wallace, and Niklas Nørgaard. Hatton’s hopes of making it to Bethpage Black are now alive and then some.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
