SUTTON COLDFIELD, England — There are those around The Belfry this week who feel Tyrrell Hatton is playing in the Betfred British Masters only because of a convenient and cynically manipulated loophole—aka the “appeal option”—in the DP World Tour’s Conflicting Tournament Regulation. Others take a different view, welcoming the strengthening presence of the 32-year-old Englishman, the most prominent player in a generally lackluster field containing only four other members of the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Then there is the rest; they don’t care one way or the other.

All of which seems to be washing over Hatton. In an 11-minute chat with a gathering of journalists the World No. 36 was at pains to avoid the politics of his presence, preferring to focus on the incentives he has to play well in his first DP World Tour regular season event since the Dubai Desert Classic in January.

As well as this week, Hatton wishes to tee-up back-to-back weeks at the Spanish Open and the Dunhill Links Championship in late September/early October. If he does well in those, his next hope is that he will have a high enough ranking on the DP World Tour ‘Race to Dubai’ to gain entry to the two playoff events in November, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the DP World Tour Championship. In turn, playing well in those could see Hatton finish in the top-30 on the Race to Dubai and so be exempt into the 2025 Open Championship (he is already in the Masters and should remain in the top-100 long enough next year to play in the PGA Championship). Which would leave the U.S. Open on his “to-do” list.

So, while there is much pressure on Hatton to perform close to his best, there is motivation and incentive, too. “I’m excited by that,” he says. “All it boils down to is playing good golf.”

The three-time European Ryder Cup player also found time to reveal a hitherto unknown aspect of the seemingly endless negotiating process still underway.

“I made the decision to join LIV in the hope things were going to change,” Hatton said. “I know that they potentially discussed awarding [Ryder Cup] points to LIV. It is maybe surprising that they [were], but it’s not surprising that it didn’t get passed. I don’t know the full details of how far it actually got, but it was a topic that was raised. I guess it was good that it was even thought about. It’s fine. You can tell from my demeanor I haven’t got any negativity towards that.”

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That last part will surely come as something of a surprise to those who have witnessed up close the familiar sight of a Hatton “head-off,” his lack of self-control after a less than satisfactory shot either amusing or appalling, depending on your point of view. Still, with none of the above a factor before the tournament even starts, Hatton’s mood was as sunny as the weather in the English Midlands.

“It feels good and obviously it being a home event as well is nice,” he said. “I am looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd again. It is really nice to see some faces I’ve not seen for a while and just catching up with certain guys. I always wanted to come back and play the events I could. Obviously, this one fell into a break on the LIV schedule. The tour knows what events I am trying to play. We have been pretty honest with them from the start. Even the week I signed with LIV they knew my position and how I feel about the tour. I’ve always wanted to play when I can.”

And the appeal process? How is that going?

“That side of it is a little bit messy,” he said with smile. “I want to play in DP World Tour events, and I am hoping there is something that can get worked out so that becomes a little bit easier. This is a massive week as well with Ryder Cup points starting. I’m a member of the DP World Tour, I want to play on the team and I need to play really well to get some points on the board.”

That bit of wishful thinking was matched by Hatton’s closing remarks. At least for public consumption, he is optimistic about what may or may not transpire following a resolution of the on-going high-level talks between the PGA Tour, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (the money behind LIV) and the DP World Tour that will determine the future of professional golf at the elite level.

“I didn’t just sign to play LIV events for the next five years,” he said. “I was hoping there would be something that gets worked out where we can all play certain events and come back and play in DP World Tour events. I think we can all probably agree that, if in five years’ time it was still how it is now, obviously golf is losing as a sport. The fans too, as far as what they want to see. Everyone is in the same boat of wanting there to be a coming together. It feels like in the last month or so that it is starting to get a bit closer.”

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com