Tyrrell Hatton remains on the official list of participants for the Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters published by the DP World Tour, however, it seems that his name will not be there for much longer. The victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship this Sunday, which initially was good news for Sotogrande, the venue of the tournament to be held next week, has turned against it. The Englishman hinted shortly after lifting the trophy for the third time at St Andrews that he is going to withdraw, that he will not play again until the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
“From now until the end of the year, I will play in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Winning here this week allows me to take some time off, this was my fourth consecutive week, and as I said, I was eager to qualify for Abu Dhabi and Dubai. At the beginning of last week, I was in 94th place in the Race to Dubai and knew I needed a good tournament. I was prepared to play in Sotogrande, and even in South Korea if necessary to try to get to Abu Dhabi. So I’m happy to have been able to win this week and have four weeks of rest. This will allow me to arrive fresh and ready to play good golf in Abu Dhabi. It’s a Ryder Cup year. I want to earn as many points as possible and I am committed to giving my best to earn the points I need to be on the team. If that means playing events I wouldn’t normally play, I will,” explained the Englishman.
Clear as day. The only hope is that he hasn’t withdrawn yet and there might be a chance that, thinking about the Ryder Cup, he decides to play in Sotogrande after all, but judging by his words, it seems quite unlikely. Hatton has already fulfilled the minimum of four tournaments required by the European Tour to remain a member, so with Abu Dhabi and Dubai, it will be six tournaments this year.
Pending the official confirmation of Hatton’s withdrawal, the Estrella Damm still boasts an extraordinary lineup, led by Jon Rahm, Ángel Hidalgo, or David Puig, as well as all the golfers fighting to secure a PGA Tour card through the Race to Dubai.
