Don’t think about Ryder Cup, Tyrrell Hatton tells Bob MacIntyre

Tyrrell Hatton reckons Bob MacIntyre can be in the Ryder Cup mix for September - if he doesn’t think about the biennial event.

Tyrrell Hatton in action during a practice round prior of the Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

The Englishman was one of the players in MacIntyre’s shoes in the build up to the 2018 match and ended up being part of a winning team under Thomas Bjorn at Le Golf National in France.

Hatton, who has since broken into the world’s top 10 on the back of a blistering run of form, revealed the secret behind his successful approach when he was in the running for that match as a rookie ahead of this week’s Saudi International.

“When I look back at that year, I thought I did a really good job of not thinking about the Ryder Cup,” said the recent Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner on a video conference.

“It might sound weird to say, but it never crossed my mind when I was out there on a Sunday or worried about if I had a bad round on the Saturday that took me out of contention going into the final round. I wasn't worried about what potential Ryder Cup points I could lose.”

European captain Padraig Harrington said last week that MacIntyre is among the players on his radar for the rescheduled match at Whistling Straits.

“I would just say try your best to not put too much pressure on yourself and try to not think about the Ryder Cup,” added Hatton of the advice he’d have for the young Scot.

“Just play, play your own game, play the tournaments that you were going to play. You play good golf; you'll make the team.”

MacIntyre has broken into the world’s top 50 for the first time on the back of his third-place finish in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday.

“He's a fantastic player,” said Hatton of the young Scot. “I saw on social media that he has just moved inside the top 50, which, at 24, is so impressive.

“I'd like to think that everyone out here on the European Tour would probably expect him to go from strength-to-strength.”

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