England’s Tyrrell Hatton believes he has got his US Open disappointment out of his system by cruising to a maiden LIV Golf League victory in Nashville on Sunday.
Hatton carded a final round of 65 to finish the 54-hole tournament on 19 under par and win by six shots from fellow countryman Sam Horsfield.
His first win since January 2021 came just a week after he squandered his chance to challenge for the US Open by making 77 on his final round at Pinehurst.
“It was nice to play the last few holes and it not be super tight. I guess having not won for three and a half years, you wonder if you’ll be able to do it again,” said Hatton.
“So I was happy that I proved to myself, and especially bouncing back after the disappointment of last Sunday where that was going to be a really important day for me, and I struggled.
“To put that behind me and to come out here and play like I did, and certainly how I putted this week, won me the golf tournament.”
Hatton’s win lifted him to third in the overall standings, behind overall leader Joaquin Niemann and his Legion XIII team captain Jon Rahm, who both tied for third in Nashville.
He has finished in the top 15 in eight of his nine starts in LIV Golf, while Rahm is the only player to have made top 10s in all of his appearances so far.
On a good week for Englishmen, Lee Westwood joined Rahm, Niemann and US Open winner DeChambeau on 12 under par as he recorded his lowest finish since joining the league. Paul Casey and Richard Bland also came in the top 10.
Hatton’s low scoring helped Legion XIII win the team title and move to within just 10 points of the leaders, Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers.
Rahm recruited Ryder Cup pal Hatton when he joined LIV Golf during the off-season and believes he is proving what an astute signing he was.
“He’s a fierce competitor and when he gets up there, he has that mentality and intensity that you need to get it done,” said the Spaniard.
“I didn’t know it was three and a half years ago the last time he won. I’m quite surprised because he’s that good a player.
“We’ve shared some big stages in the Ryder Cup and seen him hit the shots when we needed to make them. There’s not really any shortcomings when it comes to his game. He’s good at everything.
“I think today just shows how good he can be. Obviously it’s never easy to win, and to win by six in three rounds is quite impressive.”
Rahm missed the last LIV Golf event in Houston with a foot infection that also kept him out of the US Open but challenged on his return and is eyeing next month’s date on home soil.
“I’m going to be focusing on how well we did as a team,” he said. “Knowing that we have a couple weeks off and then we are going to Spain and playing Valderrama, that’s definitely a week that I want to do well.”