Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton played together during the first two rounds of this week’s Dubai Desert Classic. Hatton enters the weekend at five under par, four shots off the pace, while McIlroy trails him by three strokes.
Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton played together during the first two rounds of this week’s Dubai Desert Classic.
Hatton enters the weekend at five under par, four shots off the pace, while McIlroy trails him by three strokes.
Before play got underway, the world number two said to the Briton that if he wanted to feature in next year’s Ryder Cup, he would need to sort out his fines with the DP World Tour.
The comment was a nod to Hatton’s issues with the DP World Tour following his move to LIV Golf.
While it would have been easy to assume their conversations focused on Hatton’s Ryder Cup hopes, that was not actually what they discussed most often.
Rory McIlroy was surprised by what Tyrrell Hatton told him in Dubai
McIlroy and the 34-year-old have a strong friendship and a good understanding of each other.
But this week in Dubai, Hatton shared something about himself that caught the five-time major winner off guard.
While speaking to The Times, Hatton discussed his weight gain during the offseason.
He revealed: “He (McIlroy) was horrified to hear what weight I was on January 1.
“I was 204 pounds which, at 5ft 8in, is aggressive. Before the Ryder Cup I was like 190, so that’s another stone I’d put on. I enjoyed my December.
“I did some training but zero cardio and a lot of drinking. I had a Guinness tap in the house which was enjoyable, so now is the time to lose some weight.”
2026 looks to be a huge year for Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton is not shy about enjoying his downtime, and there is no harm in that.
After months on the road and the constant demands of top-level golf, it’s natural to unwind a bit. Even McIlroy takes some time to switch off, though he might not go quite as far as Hatton does.
The season ahead is important for Hatton, especially with expectations building around his performance in the majors.
If he can stay in contention regularly, there is every chance he could finally make that breakthrough.
Despite putting on some weight over Christmas, it would not be wise to bet against him bouncing back strongly. His ability has never been in question – it is just a matter of pulling everything together at the right time.
Category: General Sports
