08 February 2024 , 14:32
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Teenage-LIV Golf star Caleb Surratt was told he was too young to check into his Las Vegas hotel ahead of this week's event, requiring the help of his teammate Tyrrell Hatton.
Surratt was brought in during the offseason to join Jon Rahm's newly-formed team, Legion XIII, alongside Hatton and Kieran Vincent. Having made his debut at Mayakoba last week, the 19-year-old has arrived in Las Vegas for the second LIV tournament of the season.
It appeared to start with a slight hiccup though, with the former University of Tennessee star too young to check into his tournament hotel room.
READ MORE: The making of Caleb Surratt - LIV Golf’s teenage sensation recruited by Jon Rahm
Fortunately for Surratt, Hatton was quick to realise the issue, but could not help but tell the world's media in Wednesday's pre-tournament press conference. "Checking in yesterday, I kind of kept looking over to Caleb," Hatton claimed.
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"He was looking over at me quite nervous, so once I finished checking in, I sort of wandered over to make sure that he was okay, and as I got there, the lady checking him in said that he needed someone over 21 to be on the reservation to allow him to stay in the room.
"I had to hand over my driver's license to make sure he had a bed for the night." It appears the Legion team have exchanged some laughs over their age differences, with Surratt taking a wild guess at captain, Rahm's age. "We've had some funny discussions with Caleb and what he thought we were," Rahm said.
Caleb Surratt made his debut last week (Getty Images)"One of the first things he told me was man, I didn't know you were only 29. I think with the tone of how he said it, I think he thought I was closer to 40 than 30."
Despite his young age and lack of professional experience, Surratt looked more than at home on pro debut in Mexico. The teenager ended the week in a tie for 13th, finishing above the likes of Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Bubba Watson.
In doing so the youngster banked a cool £262,000 ($330k) in winnings during week one, as well as an added bonus after helping Legion win the team title. And on the back of an impressive start, the former Walker Cup winner has high hopes for his career.
"I know that's a big thing to say as a 19 year old, but there's no better way to base my process and base my goals than having [winning] as kind of the forefront thing for me.
"If I'm learning about pro golf based on trying to impress everybody and trying to live up to expectations, then I'm just setting the ceiling so low. I have my ceiling set really high, and that's kind of allowing me to truly get in situations where I can learn from the best players, and playing alongside Rahm and Tyrrell, it's as good as it gets. That helps me a lot."