03 February 2024 , 15:17
937
0
Tyrrell Hatton has been removed from the TGL roster after the Englishman gave up his PGA Tour playing rights to join LIV Golf.
Hatton followed in the footsteps of Jon Rahm in joining the LIV setup for 2024. The European Ryder Cup star signed at the 11th hour with the breakaway league, after being officially announced just days before the opening event of the season at Mayakoba on Friday.
Like his fellow LIV stars, former Arnold Palmer Invitational winner Hatton was handed a lucrative deal to make the Saudi switch, signing a contract worth a reported £50 million.
READ MORE: LIV Golf star's major demand vindicated after joining Bryson DeChambeau in exclusive club
It has of course come with consequence, with Hatton forced to give up his PGA Tour eligibility having joined the circuit's Saudi rivals. And it appears it has also cost him a place on Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods' TGL roster too.
Bubba Watson shares details of horror knee injury ahead of LIV Golf debut
Hatton was one of a number of PGA Tour stars signed by the innovative golf league founded by McIlroy and Woods. In joining LIV though, all traces of the Englishman's involvement with TGL have been removed, with his name and profile wiped from the league's website.
Hatton's defection comes with added issues for McIlroy too, having originally included his Ryder Cup teammate on his Boston Common team alongside Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley for the inaugural TGL season. The simulator-based league was initially set to begin last month, but damage to their Florida-based stadium ensured this was delayed.
TGL bosses later confirmed that their maiden campaign would now begin 12 months later, starting in January 2025. It will now go ahead without the inclusion of Hatton though following his career switch. He is of course not the only former TGL star to make the LIV switch.
Tyrrell Hatton joined LIV Golf earlier this week (Pedro Salado/Getty Images)His LIV teammate and captain, Rahm had also committed to competing alongside McIlroy and Woods on the TGL roster but the Spaniard announced last November his decision to withdraw. Just weeks later it was confirmed that Rahm had joined the breakaway league, signing a deal worth up to £450 million.
The delay to the start of TGL gives McIlroy Woods some extra time to find replacements for the two departed LIV stars. On the back of Rahm's departure in November, a statement by the league claimed his replacement would be announced 'soon'.
Three months on though the innovative circuit are yet to add a player in the Spaniard's place. With 22 players currently committed in Rahm and Hatton's absence, 24 players will complete the roster, with the playing group split across six teams.