Those who expected Tyrrell Hatton to have the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship go all his own way were very much mistaken, with the Englishman ultimately requiring a birdie on the last to get his third victory in the event.
Tyrrell Hatton made a real statement with his third round at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Hatton tied the course record at St Andrews to put himself one shot clear of Nicolas Colsaerts. And it was an ominous sign for the rest of the field considering that the 32-year-old had won the tournament twice before.
It was a scratchy front nine for Hatton. While fellow LIV Golf star David Puig went out in 29, Hatton only made two birdies before the turn. And when he managed to start to put his foot on the pedal and open up a three-shot lead, Hatton then made two sixes to come back to the field.
Anyone who has watched Hatton over the years knows that he is not one to hide his feelings, and he certainly does not worry if he is near a microphone when expressing his frustration. He seemed particularly annoyed on the putting green on Sunday, having struggled to make anything of note.
Nick Dougherty suggests some of Tyrrell Hatton’s actions are uncalled for
Hatton was visibly emotional after securing victory with his dad alongside him on the 18th green. And speaking on Sky Sports (broadcast on 6/10; 17:28), Nick Dougherty suggested that it was nice to see that side of Hatton given that he can be extremely frustrating to follow.
“I’m sure there’s plenty of you at home that do get a little bit sick of the outbursts from Tyrrell at times, we certainly get sick of having to apologise for it, and a lot of the time it is uncalled for,” he said.
“What I would say is he is a feisty competitor and he showed a softer side there in the fact that he found it really difficult to talk about actually inside what this truly means to him.”
If it ain’t broke
Anyone who has played the game of golf knows how difficult it is to play well while angry, so it is truly remarkable that Hatton is able to hit some of the shots he does when he is seemingly on the edge so often.
Of course, no elite golfer wants to be patronised by some mid-handicapper who dreams of breaking 80 on a consistent basis, but it often appears that Hatton gets frustrated after some really impressive shots. So it definitely does get tiresome when he loses his cool so frequently.
Having said that, Hatton has had another really good year. So if remaining at boiling point is what works for him, it is hard to have too many complaints.
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