Tyrrell Hatton Joins the LIV 2.0 Exodus, Signs Off With 'See You All in Abu Dhabi'

TL;DR: Tyrrell Hatton announced Friday on Instagram that he will not be part of LIV 2.0, closing with “looking forward to seeing you all in Abu Dhabi” — a nod to the DP World Tour event he won in 2021. Tom McKibbin also left for a full-time DP World Tour schedule, and the exodus now includes Rahm, Poulter, Oosthuizen and more ahead of Sunday’s commitment deadline.

Two days from the deadline, the league is losing its headline acts faster than it is keeping them.

Tyrrell Hatton’s announcement was four sentences long and said nothing about where he goes next — except for the last one. “Wanted to confirm that I will not be a part of LIV 2.0,” he wrote on Instagram Friday. “A big thank you to everyone for their continued support. I am excited for what the next chapter of my career holds. Looking forward to seeing you all in Abu Dhabi.” Abu Dhabi, as Golf Digest spelled out, is the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi Championship on Nov 5-8 — a tournament Hatton won in 2021, back when he was a nine-time winner across the PGA Tour and DP World Tour rather than one of LIV’s mercurial faces. It reads less like a farewell than a flight schedule.

Why does Hatton’s exit hurt more than most?

Because of the arithmetic he is walking away from. Golf Digest reports Hatton earned more than $100 million from LIV — roughly $43.7 million in on-course prize money plus a signing bonus above $60 million — and he was not riding out a losing hand. He joined in 2024 following Jon Rahm and played for Rahm’s Legion XIII, the 2025 team champions. Rahm, the league’s best player, rejected the LIV 2.0 terms himself on Oct 7, so Hatton is now the second member of the champion side to leave. Players do not usually abandon winning, well-paid teams two days before a deadline unless the terms on the other side look bad.

Who else went on Friday?

It was a triple exit. Ian Poulter, a founding 2022 signing and Majesticks co-captain, walked away the same day for senior golf and family time. Then Tom McKibbin, 23, announced he will play a full DP World Tour schedule in 2027 after two seasons with Legion XIII: “Joining LIV Golf was the right decision for me at the time, and I’m grateful for everything it has given me… I am confident (returning to the DP World Tour) is the right decision to help me achieve my goals.” The younger man’s statement is the more revealing document — it names the destination, where Hatton’s only hints at one. The full out list now runs Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Poulter, Oosthuizen, Puig, Ancer, Howell III, Meronk, Pieters, Grace, Herbert and McKibbin.

What happens to Legion XIII now?

It loses the band. Rahm captained the side to the 2025 team championship, Hatton was its most recognisable Englishman and McKibbin its youngest member after joining in 2025. All three are gone within three weeks. Legion XIII was the team that made LIV’s franchise model look like it could produce a dynasty; instead it has become the clearest measure of the exodus, since the league’s own champions no longer believe in the terms on offer. Golfweek’s tracker has none of the three replaced, and the staying column — Bland, Tringale, Steele, Campbell — does not yet contain a side that could take their place.

Can the leavers just rejoin the established tours?

Not without paying first. The DP World Tour requires membership applications by November 16, and returning players face fines and suspensions scaled to their LIV tenure — Field Level Media reporting has Poulter looking at a year out from his last LIV event before PGA Tour Champions eligibility, the Stenson precedent. The DP World Tour has also said signing for LIV 2.0 means no 2027 membership and no Ryder Cup. That is the leverage behind McKibbin’s move: at 23, a full DP World Tour schedule in 2027 is worth more than a gamble on a league that cannot yet name its field. Hatton’s Abu Dhabi line suggests he has reached the same conclusion, even if he has not signed the paperwork yet.

What is left for Sunday’s deadline?

A league running on contingency. LIV filed for Chapter 11 in September after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund pulled its funding; BC Partners Credit will fund the relaunch only if stipulations are met, including keeping a percentage of players, which is why the commitment date slid from Oct 13 to Oct 25. The planned 2027 schedule is ten events — five in the US, five international. The confirmed stayers, per Golfweek’s tracker, are Richard Bland, Cameron Tringale, Brendan Steele and Ben Campbell, with ESPN sources saying Bryson DeChambeau “remains committed” and is working the relaunch behind the scenes. Cam Smith and Joaquin Niemann have said nothing publicly. And hanging over every exit is the DP World Tour’s new hard line: sign with LIV 2.0 and there is no 2027 membership — and no Ryder Cup. Hatton’s Abu Dhabi line suggests he has already done that maths.