Hatton hunting down three consecutive Ryder Cup appearances

Tyrrell Hatton moved into the automatic qualification places on the World Points List after a tied fourth finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard on the PGA TOUR.

Hatton is a former winner at Arnie’s place, taking home the spoils in 2021, with this result seeing the two-time Ryder Cup player climb three places into the second qualifying spot on the World Points List with 59.95 points, where he is joined either side by Viktor Hovland and Shane Lowry.

Should the Englishman make Luke Donald’s team at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in September, it will be his third consecutive appearance on Team Europe after making his debut at the 2018 edition held at Le Golf National, Paris.

It was looking like it could be a second win at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge when the World Number 24 made a birdie at 16 to tie the lead.

However, a bogey and a par to finish saw Hatton finish two back of winner Kurt Kitayama.

Europe’s closest chance of a winner came in the form of Rory McIlroy, who finished in a tie for second place after rounds of 73-69-68-70.

And when the six-time European Ryder Cup player put his approach from 167 yards on the final hole to 12ft 6in, there was a real possibility McIlroy could claim his second worldwide victory of 2023.

However, the Northern Irishman’s birdie putt would fail to drop, leaving the door open for Kitayama who had just made birdie at 17 to take a one stroke lead down the final hole.

"It's disappointing," said McIlroy. "I felt like I gave myself a great chance after a birdie on the 13th and then to play the final five holes in one over par, with this jam-packed leaderboard, isn't really going to get it done.

"It was a battle all day. I felt like I hung in there really well and just came up one short in the end."

Norway’s Hovland caused fireworks earlier in the week when he carded the sixth ace of his career. The 2020 Ryder Cup debutant found himself in contention for much of the final day, however dropped shots at 16 and 18 saw the 25-year-old finish in a tie for tenth.

Meanwhile, both Matt Fitzpatrick and Francesco Molinari finished one stroke further back in a tie for 14^th place.

As it stands McIlroy (1,856.50 points) Jon Rahm (1,850.00 points), and Yannik Paul (1,269.97 points) would claim the three automatic qualifying spots on the European Points List, with Hovland (74.14 points), Hatton (59.95 points) and Lowry (58.04 points) currently sitting in the top three positions on the World Points List.

The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place between September 25 – October 1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Rome, Italy.

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