Tyrrell Hatton, Rory McIlroy are still cool after Hatton was dropped from TGL for joining LIV Golf

DORAL, Fla. — Tyrrell Hatton has explained his departure from TGL, the interactive golf league headed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, and assured he and McIlroy remain friends.

Hatton was a member of McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf team before joining the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League for a reported $60 million, invalidating his TGL contract. Hatton said Thursday he had a friendly conversation with McIlroy when he decided to make the switch.

“I called Rory,” said Hatton, the Englishman who lives in Orlando. “The contract said you cannot play on TGL if you are on LIV. I told Rory I was joining LIV so that meant I was no longer playing TGL.”

Hatton, who is playing this weekend in the LIV event at Trump National Doral, said the conversation was amicable.

Hatton and McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, were teammates on the winning 2023 European Ryder Cup team. Hatton was the only player to win three matches without a loss during the event in Rome.

When Hatton joined TGL, it was thought the league was starting in January 2024. When his decision to flip from the PGA Tour to LIV became official in late January, TGL already had made the decision to push its launch date back a year after the venue’s roof collapsed because of a power outage and wind storm.

Hatton was looking forward to being part of the startup league, which will be played in Palm Beach Gardens on the campus of Palm Beach State College.

“TGL seems like it will be a fun league to play in,” he said.

As for LIV golfers eventually being welcomed to TGL if the Public Investment Fund that finances LIV and PGA Tour are able to reach an agreement to combine the entities, Hatton believes it would be difficult because of the number of LIV events held world wide.

TGL’s first season starts January 7

TGL announced last month the league, which is backed by TMRW Sports, will play its first three matches the first three Tuesdays in January. The prime-time matches will be televised by ESPN. The remainder of the schedule was not revealed.

McIlroy’s team, which includes Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott, is looking to add a player to replace Hatton. One possibility could be Shane Lowry, an Irishman who also was a member of the European Ryder Cup team.