"It's a tricky situation": Ex-European Ryder Cup captain drops major insight on Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm’s future amid DP World Tour hearing

Ryder Cup former captain Paul McGinley opened up about Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton’s future amid their ongoing DP World Tour hearing. The European Tour has imposed fines on the players who defected to join the Saudi league.

However, Rahm and Hatton filed against it, and amidst their ongoing hearing recently, McGinley talked about them in his exclusive interview with Bunkered.co.uk.

He talked about the players’ situation to be able to play in the Ryder Cup. He called it a “tricky situation” and explained his opinion. He said:

"This decision and strategy of the DP World Tour is much bigger than the Ryder Cup in this instance. I’m not involved or not on the board at the moment but it’s a tricky situation. On one side we’ve got the strategic alliance and the importance of hitching a wagon with the PGA Tour has been clear to see in the last few years. I believe that’s a very good deal for the DP World Tour. "Then on the other side, we’ve got some of our stellar players who are awaiting an appeal. We may well not have them as part of our tour. If they’re not part of that, they won’t be part of the Ryder Cup in Adare. It will be a big body blow to our chances of attaining the Ryder Cup in Adare if we don’t have Hatton and Rahm," he added.

Paul McGinley has extensive experience of playing in the Ryder Cup and also served as the captain of the European team in 2014. He made his debut in the tournament in 2002 and then played in two back-to-back editions held in 2004 and 2006. In the nine matches he played, he recorded 4.5 points.

Meanwhile, Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm currently play on LIV Golf. However, they competed in the Ryder Cup in 2025 and helped their team retain the title.

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Tyrrell Hatton starts strong in this week’s DP World Tour event

Amidst the ongoing DP World Tour hearing, Tyrrell Hatton teed it up at this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The tournament started with its first round on Thursday, and the Englishman had an impressive start.

Hatton played the opening round of 6-under 66 to settle in a tie for 13th place after the first round. It’s his second appearance on the DP World Tour since winning the Ryder Cup. He found himself in contention to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews (Old Course). However, he settled in solo second place.

Earlier this year on the DP World Tour, Tyrrell Hatton won the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. He played the four rounds of 71, 65, 68, and 69. Aside from that, Hatton also played at the Amegn Irish Open, where he was tied for 42nd place, and he settled in T5 at the BMW PGA Championship.

This week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship will run through the weekend and have its finale on Sunday, November 9.

Edited by Ankita Yadav