Jon Rahm has shared what he told Tyrrell Hatton on the range before the Englishman shot a final round 64 on his LIV debut to help Legion XIII seal team victory in Mexico.
It was a day of mixed emotions for Jon Rahm at Mayakoba. The Spaniard finished bogey, bogey to miss out on the play-off between Joaquin Niemann and Sergio Garcia. It was Niemann who took the individual crown on the fourth play-off hole.
However, it was better news for Rahm on the team side. Legion XIII won by four shots on their LIV debut. And it was Tyrrell Hatton’s final round brilliance which saw them across the line.
Jon Rahm shares what he told Tyrrell Hatton before final round
Hatton had made a slow start to his LIV career, finding himself at level par after the opening two rounds. Rahm himself noted that Hatton was going to need time to settle after his late move to the Saudi-backed tour.
But it seems that the Ryder Cup hero has now settled. Hatton shot the best score of anyone in the final round.
Speaking to LIV after his round, Rahm noted that he had actually called Hatton’s heroics beforehand.
“You kind of said it, after this bad finish, I need about five minutes. I’m very disappointed in myself. The only time I hit it in the hazard all week is 17 so yeah, it’s a tough pill to swallow because I played so good all week. But very proud of my team. It was incredible, it was very encouraging for me when on 12, I look up right before hitting my four-footer and I see that we had a massive lead,” he said.
“I saw Tyrrell was killing it. I don’t know what Caleb and Kieran shot. But I told Kieran on the range it was his day today. I told Tyrrell jokingly it would be a nice day for Tyrrell Hatton to shoot a 64. And I guess he did shoot 64 so I guess my encouraging words this morning worked for them. I wish I could have used it for myself a little bit more, but I’m so proud of them.”
Major champion in waiting?
It is a promising start for Rahm and his team. They dominated the team competition. And Rahm very nearly made it an individual and team double.
Hatton’s performance was significant given that no-one could match his third round score. And he will certainly hope that it is a sign of what is to come from him.
Hatton definitely has the game to take that next step and become a major champion in the near future. And having that belief that he can just produce a magical round from nowhere is only going to help him.
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