Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
VICTORY’S ALL THE RAGE FOR HATTON
How Tyrrell conquered the course and his own temper to score the biggest win of his life
TYRRELL HATTON tamed Bay Hill and his temper to win his first PGA Tour title.
The new world No.22 is now a contender for the Masters next month and a certainty for the Ryder Cup team in September following the biggest victory of his career at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
But the 28-year-old admitted he had to control his emotions on a brutal, blowy day in Florida where the average final-round score was 75.06.
Leading by three shots after 10 holes, Hatton pulled his drive on (age 28) (4 March 2018) 2018 2016, 2018 2018 2016
the 11th into water on his way to a double bogey which could have derailed his round.
But after pretending to shoot the lake with his driver and giving the hole an ‘up yours’ gesture as he left the green, the Buckinghamshire-based star recovered to play the final seven holes in level par to win by a stroke from playing partner Marc Leishman.
Hatton, who once joked his stage name would be Head Case Hatton if he were a DJ, said: “The hardest thing for me was trying to keep myself level-headed. I was getting frustrated at times, but nowhere near the blow-ups that I am capable of.
“There were a few times I did boil over a little, but nothing compared to what I’ve been like in the past. I was just having a little moan, like it’s the grass’s fault and the wind’s fault. It’s never my fault. That always happens with me.”
And keeping his temper after that doublebogey setback hinted at a more mature Hatton.
“I feel like I could easily have blown up but I managed to keep my head,” he said. “It was one of those days when you’ve got to stick in there. Showing patience is one of the hardest things for me so I did a good job.”
Hatton closed with a 74 to finish on four under par – the highest score to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational since it began in 1979. Only four players finished under par.
Former US Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger (left) questioned the bottle of European players after Tommy Fleetwood and Lee Westwood failed to win the Honda Classic last weekend. But Hatton denied that his victory was the perfect response.
“I don’t think it’s a statement,” said Hatton of his win. “Whatever Tour you play on, it’s extremely hard to win golf tournaments. We’re all trying to do that each week. More often than not, things don’t go your way and you end up not winning. Everyone’s time comes and thankfully my time was this week.”
Hatton, the first Englishman to win at Bay Hill, will now seek to follow up at this week’s Players Championship at Sawgrass.
Players Championship defending champion Rory Mcilroy carded two double-bogeys in his closing 76 to finish tied for fifth at Bay Hill – his eighth consecutive top-five finish.
The world No.1 said: “There’s a lot of similarities between the start of this year and the start of last year. A lot of chances, not converting, but knowing the game’s pretty much there.”