Tyrrell Hatton’s Masters Sunday motivation? Not what you would expect
As Tyrrell Hatton reeled off birdie after birdie after birdie on Sunday at Augusta National, he suddenly put himself in a position to win the Masters.
But no, he didn’t think so. He was thinking about next year’s Par-3 tournament with his family.
“To be honest, most of the back 9 I just wanted to make birdies because my wife is due in six weeks and I thought it would be great to come back next year and our little girl will be 11 months. It would be amazing to see her in a boiler suit,” said Hatton. “Obviously you see all the other dads and their families and the little ones in hot suits are so cute. Yeah, I wanted to hear that. It’s definitely an inspiration for me to try to make birds and I’m glad I was able to do that. Yeah, it was cool.”
What Hatton was referring to was staying in the top 12. Sure, he would have liked to win, but at the Masters, the top 12 (and ties) are all invited back next year. While that doesn’t matter to guys like Rory McIlroy or Scheffler (who are invited for life) or Collin Morikawa or Xander Schauffele (who were released with another big win) it is important security for others.
17 players came under par on Sunday – six players tied for 12th at five under, ballooning the number of receivers – and Hatton is the only player playing at LIV Golf. And even though LIV Golf is now gaining World Ranking points and Hatton has climbed to No. 23 in the World, it’s still nice to have a major major in the year locked up for next year.
His four straight birdies from Nos. 13-16 on Sunday helped him shoot a 66 and get to 10 under, good for the clubhouse lead for about an hour. He finished two shots behind McIlroy, and Hatton’s tie for third was the best finish of his career.
“This is my 10th Masters, so I’ve been lucky to be here a lot and my results over the last three years have definitely improved, which is great,” Hatton said. “I’m probably more comfortable on the golf course with some shots. Over the years you know where you can miss and you can’t miss certain pins. Obviously I tried to do my best, and, yeah, I mean, the last three days ended up going well. I feel like I played really well on Thursday afternoon. I feel like the course played hard then. Yeah, at the end of the week I can complain.”
Max Homa, who didn’t qualify for the US Open or the Open Championship last season, finished T12 at the 2025 Masters to qualify for this year’s tournament – and now after his T9 Sunday he has secured a spot next year. He has finished T12 or better in each of the last three Masters.
Here is the list of the top 12 finishers (and ties) who will receive invitations to the 2027 Masters. Some, you may notice, already have Tuesday dinner plans every Masters week, so they didn’t need this exemption. But for some — like Hatton, Homa and a few others — it’s nice to be able to renew your Augusta rental home for next year in advance.
1 – Rory McIlroy
2 – Scottie Scheffler
T3 – Tyrrell Hatton
T3 – Russell Henley
T3 – Justin Rose
T3 – Cameron Young
T7 – Collin Morikawa
T7 – Sam Burns
T9 – Max Homa
T9 – Xander Schauffele
11 – Jake Knapp
T12 – Jordan Spieth
T12 – Hideki Matsuyama
T12 – Brooks Koepka
T12 – Patrick Reed
T12 – Patrick Cantlay
T12 – Jason Day
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