Tyrrell Hatton catapulted his way back into contention to win The DP World Tour Championship in Dubai on Friday with a fine round of 67.
Hatton is one of only two players who can catch Rory McIlroy in the Race To Dubai standings, alongside Marco Penge.
However, in order to do that, the 34-year-old Englishman needs to win The DP World Tour Championship at the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The thing is, McIlroy needs to slip up as well.
As things stand, neither of those scenarios look likely, but Hatton has at least given himself a chance with his second round of five-under par.
Hatton didn’t feel comfortable with his game in Abu Dhabi last week, and it seems like he still hasn’t figured out the problem this week in Dubai.
Tyrrell Hatton admits he struggled with one thing on day two in Dubai
Hatton is renowned for his fiery temper, and he has been hugely frustrated out on the course at Jumeirah Golf Estates this week.
His chances of catching McIlroy in the Race to Dubai standings are still not great, but they greatly improved after his bogey-free 67 on day two.
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Hatton is one of those players who never seems to be entirely happy with his golf game, regardless of how well he may have scored.
The Englishman spoke on Friday and made it very clear that one part of his game is letting him down badly right now.
He said: “It was a little better, I’m just struggling off the tee to be honest. Usually I hit a fade and for some reason, my start line is a little left and I’m hitting a little draw with it, which is not good. My misses have been quite big off the tee, I’ve been quite lucky where I’ve ended up, where I still have a shot.
“I gave myself a few more opportunities today, my irons have been overall pretty solid and inside 10 feet I was pretty good but I need to drive the ball better this weekend.“
Where Rory McIlroy needs to finish to win the Race to Dubai if Tyrrell Hatton triumphs this week
The best thing for Hatton this week is that he needs to win to stand a chance of lifting the Race To Dubai trophy.
He approaches every tournament with the intention of winning so that’s nothing new for him this week.
But if Hatton does win the tournament this week, where does McIlroy need to finish in order for the Englishman to be crowned the season-long champion on the DP World Tour?
The Northern Irishman must finish worse than a tie for eighth with at least one other player, if Hatton is to overtake him.
The LIV golfer can only focus on himself and winning in Dubai this week will be hard enough on its own, without even worrying about what McIlroy is doing.
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