Tyrrell Hatton talks about golf, sport, life and this month’s US Open.
At last year’s US Open, LIV golfer and DP World Tour star Tyrrell Hatton was one of the strongest contenders at Oakmont Country Club. The likeable Englishman was tied for the lead late on the final day in Pittsburgh before reaching the par-3 16th. There, Hatton hit an ideal 4-iron tee shot to 10 feet, only to miss the birdie putt that would’ve given him the outright lead. Moments later, at the driveable par-4 17th, an unlucky bounce from Hatton’s tee shot led to a tough stance in the rough and an eventual double-bogey. He finished equal fourth.
Ahead of this year’s US Open at Shinnecock Hills, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf winner spent 10 minutes chatting to Australian Golf Digest about several topics, from golf to his hobbies and even his bucket-list sporting events. During the interview, the Buckinghamshire lad told a funny story about visiting Shinnecock Hills, the famed golf club in New York’s Hamptons region, the week before the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage. Some of the European team members, including Hatton, enjoyed a social golf trip across the golf-laden Long Island region prior to their stirring victory over the US team. Hatton’s stellar Ryder Cup performance – he won three pairs matches before halving his singles clash with Collin Morikawa for an unbeaten 3.5 points from four sessions – came despite Shinnecock Hills dusting him up the week before.
“What was mad to me was we played Shinnecock the week before the Ryder Cup,” Hatton recalls. “There was basically no rough, and it was so hard. They could have held a US Open that week and the scoring would’ve been savage. It was amazing to me that it was that difficult on just a given week. What was cool was they put out, I think it was Thursday’s US Open pins from [the] 2018 [championship at Shinnecock]. There were a few of us who went out during the day, so it was pretty cool that they did that. It was brutal. I don’t even think I broke 80, so that was pretty savage for me, knowing that the Ryder Cup was around the corner and I hadn’t broken 80. So yeah, mentally, I was in a great spot [laughs].”
Meanwhile, Hatton has been a frequent visitor to Australia. In 2018, he played on the two-man England team at the World Cup of Golf at Melbourne’s Metropolitan Golf Club. Since joining LIV Golf under Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team in 2024, Hatton has teed up at LIV Golf Adelaide each year. The 34-year-old also revealed he has family in Western Australia, who he spent time with last year.
“My uncle lives in Perth,” he says. “After Adelaide last year, me and my wife, Emily, we flew over to Perth and we drove south, down to Yallingup (within the Margaret River region). We did a few wine tours and then the second week, we drove back up to Perth, spent some time with my uncle. I practised at Lake Karrinyup. We loved it there. We thought [Perth] was a brilliant spot.”
Hatton would certainly fit in Down Under, considering his side hobby of barbecuing. He cooks with a kamado-style grill, a type of charcoal grill with an insulated interior that’s similar to the type traditionally used in Japan and China.
“I enjoy using my kamado, smoking meats. It’s obviously a lot easier when you just use a meat thermometer. As long as you’ve got the temperature right, you can just chuck [meat] in, you can’t get sick. It’s basically idiot-proof, which is probably why I enjoy it [laughs].
“That’s something I enjoy doing when I’m home. I keep it really simple. I’m not very good. Leg of lamb, or reverse-sear a tomahawk. Normally the ribs are pretty good in the US, so we do that. Or even a rack of lamb. They’re my four go-to [meats] on the kamado.”
Hatton also loves attending big sporting events where possible, from Formula 1 to the 2020 UEFA Euro final, with a few remaining on the bucket list.
“I’ve never done Monaco [Grand Prix, on the Formula 1 schedule]. That would be pretty cool, and I think a World Cup final [is on the list]. Hopefully England would be in it. I’ve been really lucky to go to some really cool sporting events. I’ve been to Abu Dhabi [Grand Prix] a couple of times. Wimbledon, on the Monday to start the second week. You get great matches there. I [attended] the Euro final at Wembley in 2020. England lost to Italy, in penalties – that was brutal. I’m not into cricket, to be honest, but everyone says the Boxing Day Test [at the Melbourne Cricket Ground] is a pretty cool one. I don’t really follow it, so you can’t give me too much stick or anything like that. But I would probably enjoy it for the social aspect of it, not necessarily enjoying the quality of cricket.”
Hatton also revealed he was due to become a father just after the PGA Championship. Aside from being personally excited for he and his wife, he spoke about the potential source of extra inspiration to play well.
“I think that would be quite a motivation for me to be able to keep playing good enough golf to win tournaments. When they grow up, to know that [Dad] was actually pretty good sometimes. I’ll certainly be motivated to do as well as I possibly can.”
Photograph by Getty Images/andrew redington
