With Tyrrell Hatton going into the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship with a one shot lead over Nicolas Colsaerts, it really did appear that the Englishman was the overwhelming favourite to lift the trophy for a third time.
Tyrrell Hatton rose to the top of the leaderboard after the third round, with Hatton tying the course record at St Andrews on Saturday as he posted a 61. Nicolas Colsaerts meanwhile, only received an invite to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in the days leading up to the event.
Ultimately, Hatton did indeed become the first player to win the tournament for a third time, following his victories back in 2016 and 2017. But the 32-year-old made extremely hard work of getting across the line at the Old Course.
At one stage, Hatton had a three-shot lead on the field. And with the back nine playing significantly more difficult than the front nine, it did appear that the Legion XIII man just needed to play sensibly to ensure that he got the job done.
However, Hatton made six on successive holes. And by the time the final pair teed off on the 72nd hole, they were tied for the lead at 23 under par. Remarkably, they both left themselves on similar lines just short of the green with their drives.
Rich Beem lauds Tyrrell Hatton after what he did on 18 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
While 18 is not the longest – and a welcome relief after the challenges of 16 and 17 – every golf fan has seen players make a meal out of that final hole down the years. And with Hatton and Colsaerts having the valley of sin ahead of them, there was always the possibility that one would not make a birdie.
Hatton’s drive was slightly shorter, so he took his pitching wedge and almost fizzed the ball in close. That meant that when Colsaerts left his second shot quite a way short, the LIV Golf man moved back into the driving seat.
The Belgian had been making putts from that sort of distance throughout the day, so of course, the one on 18 was the one which fell low of the hole and presented Hatton with the chance to win – which he did not pass up.
And speaking on Sky Sports (broadcast on 6/10; 17:25), Rich Beem suggested that he was so impressed by the chip shot which set up the decisive birdie, given the pressure on that shot.
“That is certainly something that people could learn from. It’s not perfect all the time, and sometimes you have to make it. It felt right and he did it in the moment. That, to me, is mind-blowing, hats off to Tyrrell Hatton in taking that, I don’t want to say a chance, but essentially a chance,” he said.
History maker
It will not surprise anyone who has watched Hatton over the years that he was getting extremely frustrated with himself during that final round. Hatton found putting difficult at Kingsbarns on Friday, and he was finding things tough on the greens on Sunday as several putts went by.
At one stage, it appeared that Hatton was even ready to snap his putter. So the last thing he needed was for Colsaerts to play so consistently after the turn. The 41-year-old made one birdie and one bogey on the back nine.
Hatton would have assume that Colsaerts would get up and down on 18, so the pressure in that moment was huge. But he went on to produce a moment of brilliance – a shot worthy of making history, once again.
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