Tyrrell Hatton’s Masters Sunday motivation? Not what you’d expect

As Tyrrell Hatton rattled off birdie after birdie after birdie late Sunday at Augusta National, he suddenly put himself in position to win the Masters.

But no, he wasn’t even thinking about that. He was thinking about next year’s Par-3 Contest with his family.

“To be honest, most the back nine I just wanted to make birdies because my wife is due in six weeks and I was thinking about it would be cool to come back next year and our little girl will be pretty much be 11 months. It would be amazing to see her in a boiler suit,” Hatton said. “Obviously you see all the other dads and their families and the little ones in boiler suits is so cute. Yeah, I wanted to experience that. Definitely a motivation for me to try and make some birdies and happy I managed to do that. Yeah, it was cool.”

What Hatton was referring to was staying in that top 12. Sure, he would have loved to win, but at the Masters, the top 12 (and ties) are all invited back the next year. While that’s not important for guys like Rory McIlroy or Scheffler (who are invited back for life) or Collin Morikawa or Xander Schauffele (who are exempt via other major victories) it’s crucial security for others.

Seventeen players landed under this exemption on Sunday — six players tied for 12th at five under, ballooning the number of recipients — and Hatton was the only one who plays on LIV Golf. And while LIV Golf now receives some World Ranking points and Hatton is up to No. 23 in the World, it’s still nice to have a spot in the biggest major of the year locked up for next year.

His four straight birdies from Nos. 13-16 Sunday helped him shoot 66 and get to 10 under, which was good for the clubhouse lead for about an hour. He ended up two shots behind McIlroy, and Hatton’s tie for third was the best major finish of his career.

“This is my 10th Masters, so been fortunate to be here a lot and my results the last three years have definitely improved, which is nice,” Hatton said. “I’ve got maybe a little bit more comfortable on the golf course on certain shots. Over the years you know where you can and can’t miss certain pins. Obviously I’ve tried to do the best I could, and, yeah, I mean, the last three days ended up being great. Feel like I played quite great on Thursday afternoon. Feel like the course played really hard then. Yeah, I can’t really complain at the end of the week.”

Max Homa, who didn’t qualify for the U.S. Open or Open Championship last season, finished T12 at the 2025 Masters to gain entry into this year’s tournament — and now after his T9 Sunday he secured a spot for next year. He’s finished T12 or better at each of the last three Masters.

Here’s the list of the top-12 finishers (and ties) who will receive invites for the 2027 Masters. Some, you might notice, already have Tuesday night dinner plans every Masters week, so they didn’t necessarily 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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