Legion XIII’s Hatton in mix to chase another major, but this one is different
Jul 19, 2025 - 8:45 PMWritten by: Mike McAllister
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – For the second consecutive major, Tyrrell Hatton finds himself on the first page of the leaderboard going into the final round.
Alas, the situations are vastly different.
A month ago at the U.S. Open, Hatton entered that Sunday at Oakmont tied for sixth, five shots off the lead. He was among the large group of hopefuls who had previously never contended for a major, and the Englishman remained in the mix – even held the lead at one point – until two late bogeys. His tie for fourth was a career-best finish in any major.
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On Sunday at Royal Portrush, he’ll start the day tied for fourth but six shots off the lead. Here’s the kicker – the guy he and everybody else is chasing is Scottie Scheffler, golf’s most winningest player the last few years who’s seeking his third career major and second this season. And one of the players Hatton shares fourth with is Rory McIlroy, who completed the career grand slam in April at the Masters.
“A very different challenge,” said Hatton, the Legion XIII star. “And at the moment, a completely different situation. I’d have to have an unbelievable front nine tomorrow to be in the same position going into the back nine as what I experienced at Oakmont.”
EAGLE ALERT 🚨@TyrrellHatton gets the crowd going at Royal Portrush and jumps to 8-under, just 2 back of the leaders 📈#TheOpen @LegionXIIIgc
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) July 19, 2025
pic.twitter.com/LgelCdct9x
Essentially, he’ll need a front nine much like the way his fellow LIV Golf competitor Lee Westwood played the back nine on Saturday – in record-setting fashion. Westwood shot a 6-under 29 coming in to tie The Open record for lowest back-9 score.
Is it doable? Well, anything’s doable, and Hatton certainly is in fine form. The numbers say he’s been excellent in tee-to-green this week, ranking second in the field in greens in regulation, fifth in strokes gained approach and 15th in strokes gained off the tee.
But from his perspective, he isn’t entirely pleased with his ball-striking, which hasn’t created many legitimate birdie chances.
“Although I’ve hit a lot of greens, I haven’t been that close to the hole,” he said after his third-round 68 left him at 8 under for the tournament; Scheffler is at 14 under. “So, it’s quite hard to hole putts. I feel like I’m constantly just trying to get it up there close and walk off with par. That side of it has been a bit frustrating for me.”
Even if he doesn’t catch Scheffler, Sunday’s final round could pay dividends for Hatton. A top-10 finish would assure him a spot in next year’s Open. Also, Ryder Cup points are at stake, and Hatton desperately wants to earn his spot on the European team on merit, just like he has with his last three appearances. He’s currently fourth in the standings and would likely sew up a spot for September’s showdown with a good result.
“One thing I'm proud of the last three Ryder Cups I've played is that I've made the team automatically,” Hatton said. “Sure, since I joined LIV, I knew that was going to make things a lot harder for me to make it a fourth time. Yeah, I guess for self-pride, I'd love to keep that streak going of being an automatic pick. That will make it even more pleasing, rewarding because I know that I've had a lot less tournaments than the other guys to do it.”
A few of his fellow LIV Golf competitors also have plenty at stake Sunday.
Thanks to his record performance, Westwood moved into a tie for 14th on the leaderboard at 5 under. He had to go through final qualifying to earn a spot in this year’s Open but could avoid that by finishing in the top 10.
The 52-year-old has been playing with house money this week and that’s given him the opportunity to perform with fewer expectations. Does that explain his 40 on the front, 29 on the back Saturday? Who knows. But a similar carefree approach Sunday could set him up for Royal Birkdale next year.
Front 9: +4
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) July 19, 2025
Back 9: -5@WestwoodLee is recovering and moving up in the third round 📈#TheOpen @MajesticksGC pic.twitter.com/XMvD69Osac
“I've set no goals for this week at all whatsoever,” said the Majesticks GC co-captain. “That's why I really wasn't that disappointed when I was 4-over through 6 because I thought, it's the Open Championship, how many more am I going to get to play, you might as well enjoy it.
“There's no point in being 4-over through 6 and sulking and being miserable and thinking, there goes my Open Championship chance this year. You might as well just enjoy the surroundings, enjoy the feedback from the crowd because they're great … Patience is the key sometimes, and 52 years of age, I've got plenty of knowledge of my golf swing, and I figured it out, figured it out quick.”
4Aces GC Captain Dustin Johnson and Ripper GC’s Marc Leishman are tied for 22nd – 10 shots behind Scheffler – and neither has exemptions into next year’s Open. A top-10 finish would serve either well. Leishman even admitted to chasing a top-four finish, would guarantee a spot in next year’s Masters.
“Obviously there's the carrot dangling to try to get into the top 4 but also to try to get in the Open next year,” Leishman said. “Yes, you want to do something silly and try to go crazy-low, but you also want to make sure you try to get back in next year and give yourself a chance to get into the other majors.”
But like the rest of the field, he’s also realistic about his chances of catching the red-hot Scheffler, who’ll start the final round at 14 under.
“He's probably going to get to 20 under,” Leishman said. “I'm not going to shoot 56.”