FOCUS ON Surreal feeling as Hatton aims for a Masters invitation
TYRRELL HATTON had been threatening a big breakthrough all year. Finally at St Andrews a couple of weeks ago, he rightly took his place as one of golf’s new army of fearless young guns.
The Old Course delivered a new star as Hatton shot 62-66 over the weekend to win the Dunhill Links by four strokes for his maiden tournament win.
Hatton had been close at Wentworth and the Scottish Open earlier in the year, but he proved his game was ready with a fantastic display.
That victory will open lots of doors for the 25-year-old. He has jumped up to 32nd in the World Rankings, making him one of the highest climbers of the season, and he is also in the top five on the Race to Dubai list.
The young Englishman can now look forward to a global schedule, befitting the stars of the European Tour, beginning with the WGC event in Shanghai this week.
But Tyrrell can only smile at the thought of being on the posters around the Auld Grey Toon to promote next year’s Dunhill Links after his incredible efforts a few weeks ago.
“Since the start of my year, my goals were to win a tournament and to get inside the top 50,” he reflects.
“I managed to do them both in the same week! Now it’s a case of setting new goals and working towards them.
“The best thing about winning is that feeling of lifting the trophy. And to do it at St Andrews, the Home of Golf, was almost surreal.
“I felt pretty confident all that week. I played well, especially in tough conditions at Kingsbarns on the Friday.
“I hoped St Andrews would be kind, and it was and everything clicked.
“To equal the course record was unbelievable. It wasn’t something I was thinking about and I didn’t even know what the record was.
“All I was thinking about was getting to 10-under because I had never shot that before in any round that I’ve played, so that was special too.
“I’m not sure I could have gone any lower. I holed my fair share of putts that day and finished birdie, birdie at 17 and 18.”
Hatton really signalled his intentions this summer with top-10 finishes at both The Open and the US PGA.
That burst of form came slightly too late to throw himself right in the mix for a Ryder Cup place at Hazeltine, but it underlined his ability in elite company and showed he will be a strong contender to be in Paris in 2018.
“Hopefully next year has all four Majors on the schedule,” he says. “I’ve never played The Masters or the US Open, so that would be really cool, especially The Masters for obvious reasons.
“It will be amazing to get the letter through the post from Augusta. That would be a great week for me and my family.
“This year, I wasn’t treating the Majors any differently to other events, but having top-10s in those and now winning at St Andrews gives me a lot of confidence for the big tournaments.
“Going out with the lead in the final round and playing as I did shows that I can do that again.
“I got fairly close to the automatic places for the Ryder Cup this time, although I don’t feel I was close to a pick.
“Hopefully I can push on from winning my first event, have a few more wins and get into that team next time.”