Hatton out to make Harrington’s team as quickly as possible

Irish Golfer

25th January 2021

New Abu Dhabi golf champion, Tyrrell Hatton has set his sights on securing a place on Padraig Harrington’s European Ryder Cup team without delay after his stunning win in the desert on Sunday.

The Englishman put the field to the sword on the final day at Abu Dhabi golf club, with the likes of Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy blown away by Hatton’s bogey-free 66 and 18-under tally. The victory saw the 29-year old bank €1,097,005 and a bucket load of Ryder Cup points to go with it as Hatton made the jump to second place on Europe’s projected side to face America at Whistling Straits this September.

“Any time you win it gives you massive confidence, and to win in my first start of the season is a great feeling with Ryder Cup points starting again this week,” said Hatton, who made his Ryder Cup debut for Europe in 2018.

“That’s definitely a goal of mine for the year ahead, so to pick up a lot of points this week is great. I want to secure my place on that team as fast as possible, and this week’s certainly gone a long way to helping me achieve that goal.

“The last Ryder Cup was the best golfing experience of my life to date. Home fans, and that first tee with the grandstand was just amazing. I absolutely loved the week. I’m sure it will be a very different experience playing away, if I make that team, and hopefully I’m there at Whistling Straits. So I’d love to try and help the team win. But you know, there’s a lot of golf to play between now and again, but fingers crossed that I’m there.”

The in-form golfer in Europe right now, Captain Harrington will be hoping Hatton’s trajectory continues to rise upwards having now reached a career high fifth in the world rankings. He’s second in the European points standings behind Fleetwood, with Jon Rahm in third, McIlroy fourth and Frenchman Victor Perez in fifth.

Austria’s Bern Wiesberger is in sixth place, with the English trio of Matt Fitzpatrick, Danny Willett and Lee Westwood occupying spots 7-10. Matthias Schwab rounds out the current top-10 with the Ryder Cup race sure to ebb on flow before Harrington’s side is set for September’s eagerly-awaited renewal.