Tyrrell Hatton responds to Rory McIlroy’s jab with serious humour

Despite being joined by European Ryder Cup teammates Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood at this week’s Dubai Desert Classic, Tyrrell Hatton may be expecting a tough opening round.

Earlier in the week, McIlroy sent a surprising and direct message to Hatton and LIV partner Jon Rahm during a pre-tournament press conference.

But according to Hatton, the main topic of conversation between him and McIlroy on Thursday was Hatton’s binge-eating season, which resulted in a dramatic weight gain that left McIlroy “shocked.”

Here’s what you need to know.

Rory McIlroy’s surprise challenge to LIV Ryder Cup teammates: ‘Prove it’

The most notable aspect of the European team’s victory in the 2025 Ryder Cup (besides the fan abuse they faced) was their ability to play as a team. In training and press conferences, Europe’s star players have proven time and time again that they care about each other and have each other’s backs.

That’s why it was so surprising when McIlroy followed two of his teammates at a press conference at the Dubai Desert Classic this week.

The topic that drew McIlroy’s reaction was the annual fee charged to LIV professionals by the DP World Tour for playing in the inaugural league. Fines, running into millions, were previously paid by LIV. But from this year, the players will have to pay the fines themselves. If they don’t pay, they risk losing their DP World Tour membership and giving up their chance to play Ryder Cups.

When asked if his teammates should pay a fine to continue playing the Ryder Cup, McIlroy said they should, using his own criticism of the US Ryder Cup team to make his point.

“Look, this is my opinion. We’ve been very hard on the Americans about getting paid to play in the Ryder Cup, and we’ve also said we’re going to pay to play in the Ryder Cups. There are two guys who can prove that. It’s great,” McIlroy said on Wednesday.

Given the personal nature of McIlroy’s message, which could only be directed at Hatton and Rahm, some wondered if the two players would show up on the course.

But Hatton brought up another topic that dominated their conversations: Hatton’s offseason celebrations.

Tyrrell Hatton jokes about offseason weight gain: ‘I was turning like the Titanic’

“We didn’t talk about that,” Hatton said after the first round, referring to McIlroy’s comments about the DP World Tour penalty. “I was the one who asked him the most if he drank good wine at Christmas, to be honest. It was better than the wine I used to drink, but my wine was very good.”

After that Hatton revealed something that really pissed off McIlroy,

“He was shocked to hear how much I weighed on January 1,” Hatton said. “I was 204 pounds, which for 5-foot-8 is aggressive.”

He went on to explain that he had “enjoyed” December with “zero cardio and heavy drinking,” aided by a “Guinness tap in the house.” The result of all that fun? Weighs 14 pounds.

“Before the Ryder Cup, I was 190 [pounds]. So, I put on one stone [14 pounds]. Yes, I enjoyed my December,” Hatton joked. “I did the training. Zero cardio, and lots of drinking. I had a Guinness tap in the house, which was nice. And, yes, now it’s time to lose some weight.”

Hatton’s process of self-deprecation continued.

“I was turning like the Titanic. I still feel very strong. Backsliding is not too much of a problem. When I started again I felt like my backsliding​​​​​​was shorter than Jon [Rahm’s]which is not right!”

Eventually, the jokes stopped and Hatton addressed McIlroy’s comments directly.

“Yeah, I mean, I just saw what was said. That’s his opinion, so everybody agreed, and I don’t have anything else to add to that,” Hatton said via media. “I think something will be fixed, hopefully something soon. I think everybody is looking forward to that happening. So, yeah, we’ll see what happens.”

Hatton’s performance on the course may have contributed to his limited response. Hatton defeated McIlroy by three strokes in Round 1, 70 to 73. He backed it up with a 69 on Friday to reach five under par at the Dubai Desert Classic. McIlroy also shot a 69 in Round 2 and will start the weekend at two under par.