Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood and Nicolai Hojgaard have both reportedly turned down multi-million pound offers from LIV Golf to join the 54-hole league just weeks before the new season gets underway.
The Telegraph's James Corrigan is reporting that two of Luke Donald's victorious side were presented with formal offers - totalling tens of millions - to join teammate Jon Rahm in the Saudi-funded League but chose to reject them in favor of staying on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour.
As a result, Team Europe's Tyrrell Hatton is now said to be LIV's number-one target as it desperately tries to fill out all 13 of its teams before LIV Golf Mayakoba begins on February 2. A move for Hatton would make sense, especially if he was to sign and end up playing in Rahm's as yet unnamed foursome.
Hatton and Rahm played together twice at the most recent Ryder Cup and claimed maximum points as a result of a 4&3 win over Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns as well as a 2&1 success against Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. Rahm fought back in Sunday's singles to claim a thrilling half with Scheffler, while Hatton thumped Harman 3&2 to put Donald's men within touching distance of lifting the little golf trophy.
As it turned out, Fleetwood was the man to secure the crucial winning point - although the Englishman will not be teaming up with Rahm until at least Bethpage Black in 2025, it appears.
The Telegraph claimed sources close to Hatton say a formal offer is yet to be received while other insiders believe talks between LIV and the Englishman's team have taken place. Should Hatton be on LIV's list of targets, the Saudi-funded League would have attempted to lure almost half of Team Europe's 2023 squad.
Ryder Cup hero Tommy Fleetwood snubs LIV Golf – Tyrrell Hatton now its primary target https://t.co/d4o20kmvNTJanuary 19, 2024
While Rory McIlroy recently stated that he has never received an offer from LIV, Ludvig Aberg confirmed he had officially turned down a proposal before Christmas, saying he would "never chase money" and "wants to play against the best." In a further blow to LIV, Viktor Hovland, who Aberg formed a fantastic partnership with at the Ryder Cup, also ruled out making the switch to the controversial circuit.
On the American side, Tony Finau was reportedly in negotiations with LIV but eventually opted to stay put and continue his long and successful career on the PGA Tour.
Speaking of negotiations, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabian PIF remain locked in talks to unify the game and hope to complete a deal prior to The Masters in April at the very latest. Meanwhile, outgoing DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley is confident that an agreement will be reached and confirmed that he asked his fellow board members to delay his departure by three months as he "truly believes" there will be a positive outcome before April.
