- The pair will have their short fuses tested by the feverish atmosphere expected
- Rahm’s past playing partner Sergio Garcia is unavailable due to his LIV defection
Europe’s Ryder Cup team might not be described as 12 Angry Men, but captain Luke Donald is mindful to put out his most combustible pairing possible at this year’s event.
With Sergio Garcia’s LIV defection rendering him unavailable, Donald is contemplating partnering Jon Rahm with Tyrrell Hatton, both of whose short fuses will be tested by the feverish atmosphere expected.
Rahm and Garcia were an isolated success for Europe at Whistling Straits in 2021, winning three times together.
Rahm also managed a half point when coupled with Hatton, and practice days suggest they may well be reunited.
The prospect of this led to the Englishman being asked who would win a swearing contest between the two players with little history of hiding their emotions on the course.
Luke Donald is considering pairing Tyrrell Hatton (left) with Jon Rahm (right) at the Ryder Cup
Both of their short fuses will be tested by the feverish atmosphere expected at the Ryder Cup
Hatton has a showreel lasting more than ten minutes entitled: Tyrrell Hatton – Angry Golfer
‘I’d give it a pretty poor attempt,’ said Hatton. ‘I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself or to upset Jon, I guess. I think I would probably win in a swear-off. I’ve got everyone covered when it comes to that. Doesn’t matter what we’re doing, I’m swearing.’
Warming to his theme he added: ‘I don’t understand why Jon doesn’t swear in Spanish. Why does he swear in English? I don’t get it. He would probably get away with it if he just swore in Spanish. Maybe the English language has a bit more punch to it with certain words.’
Hatton suffers perhaps more than any other golfer from white line fever.
With a reputation for being witty and courteous off the course, his blow-ups after falling short of perfection when hitting a shot have marked him out.
So much so that the DP Tour actually produced a showreel video of his self-beration lasting more than 10 minutes, entitled Tyrrell Hatton: Angry Golfer.
The 31-year-old from High Wycombe was happy to play along with the stereotype, lightheartedly telling the media to ‘F*** off’ by way of example.
More seriously he assessed his relationship with Rahm, saying: ‘I think we’re fairly similar, pretty fiery people. But Jon is obviously a fantastic player and naturally brings a great energy. I genuinely enjoy being in Jon’s company.
Rahm also has a simmering temper – although it has mellowed with parenthood
Rahm’s past playing partner Sergio Garcia is unavailable because of his LIV Golf defection
‘He does like to call me Ty-Rell, which is an interesting move. He started calling me that at Whistling Straits and I might have actually hit a decent shot after that. They were few and far between that week.
‘I don’t think being emotional — I don’t think that’s a negative.’
Rahm also has a simmering temper, although the experience of parenthood — he has two sons, born in 2021 and 2022 — seems to have mellowed him somewhat.
Either way there will be no shortage of fire that they would bring, with Hatton intent on improving his previous Ryder Cup record of managing two and a half points from the seven he has played for.
‘Ultimately you are playing against the best players in the world,’ he reasoned.
‘From the European side, the highest percentage of wins is around 70 per cent. So if you win half your matches, that’s still a great effort.’