Tyrrell Hatton is very finely poised heading into the weekend of The Masters at Augusta National.
Justin Rose leads The Masters after day two at Augusta National on eight-under par, with Tyrrell Hatton slotted in nicely just three shots back alongside defending champion Scottie Scheffler.
Tyrrell Hatton has been outspoken about his dislike for Augusta National’s 15th hole, but on the whole, he has really impressed during the first two rounds.
He will have to play very well indeed over the course of the next two days though, in order to have any chance of ending the week victorious.
The Masters leaderboard is arguably the most exciting one we’ve seen over the past decade or so.
But can Hatton make the jump up to the next level by winning his first Major Championship this week?
Tyrrell Hatton says what he’s struggled with at Augusta National
If the LIV Golf star is to triumph around Augusta National this week, he will need to keep his emotions in check as much as possible.
Every golfer in the field will make mistakes on Saturday and Sunday, but the most important thing will be how they react to those errors.
Hatton missed a two-foot putt on the 17th hole on Friday, and he will need to put that behind him very quickly indeed, if he is to win The Masters this year.
He responded when asked to sum up how he felt after his second round of 70:
“Naturally disappointed. I mean, I’m trying to think how many — I have four dropped shots today and probably three out of the four shouldn’t really have happened.
“Yeah, I mean, 17 is just like ridiculous. Obviously tapping in there and hitting a little mark and goes straight left and lips out left and all of a sudden you look stupid. But I don’t really know what to say about that. When you hit a decent putt from a foot, you expect it to go in.“
The Englishman then opened up on something that he really struggles with around Augusta National:
“Yeah, that’s probably one of the best breaks I’ve ever had. Certainly around here. I feel like I’ve had enough bad breaks, I was certainly due a good one. That one was nice.
“Then yeah, sadly wasn’t able to hole the birdie putt. But I feel like that’s part of my struggle around here, as well. I just don’t hole putts from that 15 sort of foot range.
“Yeah, I just struggle reading them, and that’s been the consistent theme for the nine times that I’ve played it. I’m a good putter, and I just don’t get these greens.So it’s frustrating to come off the course and feel like you kind of have shot the worst score that you could every time.“
Does fiery Tyrrell Hatton’s on-course behaviour affect playing partners?
Hatton is one of golf’s most hot-headed players.
A round without a few obscenities and outbursts is rare for Tyrrell, but in fairness to him, that is what he needs to do to give him the edge that he feels he needs to compete.
The 33-year-old was once asked what he would do if his outbursts on the course ever affected his playing partners:
“If I use it in the right way, and I don’t affect my playing partners, because that’s a big thing, obviously if I’m losing the plot, I’m losing the plot at myself for maybe something I think’s unfair with the bounce or whatever, but if I really start to affect my playing partners, that for me, I’d feel horrific,” he said.
“If someone came up to me at the end of the round and said, ‘you’ve put me off today’, I would genuinely be absolutely devastated because the last thing I want to do is affect anyone I’m playing with. I’m just trying my best, and I show my frustration more than other people, but I feel like I’m a conscious person so I don’t want to upset people, I don’t want to annoy them. But sometimes I guess you forget about that in the heat of the moment.”
That’s fair enough really, as long as his behaviour doesn’t actually lead to his playing partners making mistakes that they otherwise wouldn’t have made.
Tyrrell Hatton has every chance of winning The Masters this year, but he will have to tame Augusta’s greens if he is to capture his first green jacket.
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