With Tyrrell Hatton having a one shot lead over Nicolas Colsaerts ahead of the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, few would have anticipated just how close the battle between the two would prove to be.
While there was only one shot between the pair, Tyrrell Hatton had won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on two previous occasions, while Nicolas Colsaerts has had an incredibly tough few years and only received an invite to the tournament in the days before the event. Hatton meanwhile, matched the course record at St Andrews on Saturday.
And it appeared that the LIV Golf star was set to coast to the line after he took a three-shot lead at one stage. While the back nine was playing considerably tougher, Hatton had only made one bogey all week.
However, he would make a double bogey on the 13th and a bogey on 14. And when the Belgian then birdied the 15th, the pair were tied until the moment the Englishman made the birdie on the last which secured victory.
Tyrrell Hatton reveals what he did not realise during the back nine at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
It was a nail-biting finish, but it seems that it largely escaped Hatton’s attention just how close it was. Speaking on Sky Sports (broadcast on 6/10; 17:20), the Legion XIII star revealed that he did not realise that he had not blown his chances after the successive sixes on the back nine.
“To be honest, I actually didn’t know what the scores were from when we left the halfway house – there’s a nice TV in there – but the first leaderboard I saw was on the 17th green,” he said.
“And when I made double on 13 and bogey on 14, I didn’t realise I was still around the lead. Just trying my best on every shot coming in, and then I see where I’m at on the 17th green. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous after seeing the leaderboard.”
The challenge from elsewhere never came
It was a brave move from Hatton to avoid the scoreboards, particularly on a course like St Andrews which offers a few opportunities to twist rather than stick. The back nine was playing much tougher than the front nine, but Hatton did have a few birdie chances.
And with someone like David Puig going out in 29 and then going eight under after 10, you can understand why Hatton suspected that he may have lost the lead after the mistakes on 13 and 14.
It perhaps explains why he decided to take on the bunker on the Road Hole from 222 yards. He may have felt that he needed to put his foot down given that he was on the same score as Colsaerts.
Perhaps that may prove to be a strategy Hatton uses more often after securing his second win of the year.
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