LIV Golf has arguably never been in a more precarious position following Brooks Koepka’s decision to leave ahead of the 2026 season.
To LIV Golf‘s critics, it said a lot that Koepka was prepared to pay a significant sum to get out of his contract one year early.
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The American may have not been at his best in 2025, but his departure is still a big blow to the league. It leaves LIV Golf with a real point to prove.
They arguably need to pull out all of the stops in the coming months – including when it comes to the individual title race.
LIV Golf need Tyrrell Hatton to step up after underwhelming 2025 season
Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann have battled it out over the last two years. Of course, it is Rahm who has got the better of his rival, winning the individual title twice in a row.
In fairness to LIV, it has been impressive how the race has gone down to the wire in both 2024 and 2025.
But the season needs more subplots, particularly towards the top of the standings. And that is why Tyrrell Hatton may perhaps be the key player for LIV in 2026.
It is imperative for LIV that Rahm, Niemann, and Bryson DeChambeau are challenging for the title once again heading into the final stages of the campaign.
But Hatton bouncing back from an underwhelming 2025 – on LIV – could make such a difference.
LIV is yet to have two teammates vying for the title. And on paper, you have to say that Hatton is best placed to make that happen.
Obviously, it will not change everything for LIV. But it would be fascinating to watch two players as passionate and fiery as Rahm and Hatton challenging for the title while also being teammates.
Those who watched Formula One in 2025 will know how having both McLaren drivers going for the title enhanced the drama.
There could be some interesting press conferences, while it will be intriguing to see how they behave if they are both consistently on the individual and team podiums each week.
How Tyrrell Hatton reacted to losing out to Jon Rahm by one shot at UK event in 2024
Fans got a glimpse of what a title race involving Rahm and Hatton could potentially look like at the 2024 UK event, with the Spaniard beating his Legion XIII teammate by one shot at JCB.
Unsurprisingly, Legion won the team crown that day. Nevertheless, Hatton admitted that victory provided little consolation.
“To be honest, no [it does not soften the blow]. Yeah, it’s obviously still pretty raw for me as an individual. It’s kind of hard to put that to one side. Golf is generally an individual sport, and ultimately your individual results will reflect what happens within the team,” he said.
“I’m really happy for the guys to have a solid weekend and for us to win our fourth event as a team, but it doesn’t change how I feel towards my own individual performance.
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“It sucks to bogey the last in front of your home crowd to effectively miss out on a playoff. That’s unfortunately the reality of my situation at the moment.”
There is arguably too much camaraderie among the players on LIV, particularly on rival teams. Hatton’s honesty that day was refreshing. And you would imagine that Rahm would say something similar had the result been reversed.
Across a season, that could create some real tension among the teammates and give LIV a number of the storylines they have lacked so far.
It is hard to see Niemann being challenged by one of his Torque teammates, while it is a similar story with DeChambeau and the Crushers.
If LIV is going to get a battle between two players on the same team that it is arguably crying out for, then it is likely to fall on Hatton to step up and push Rahm all the way.
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