Hatton ties for fourth after solid start in desert

Marlow’s Tyrrell Hatton followed up the solid defence of his Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship title last month with a tie for fourth at the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday.

The Harleyford Golf Club member has found consistency over the past couple of weeks in the desert, challenging in both events going into the weekend before being edged out of contention on the final day.

Hatton might well have taken the title again in Abu Dhabi were it not for the 18th hole which saw him score a quadruple bogey nine during one round. Despite this, he still finished tied for sixth, but afterwards said he’d love to ‘drop a bomb’ on the hole which ultimately cost him his shot at victory.

Speaking afterwards he said: “I honestly can’t remember the last time I got a nine.

“I certainly haven’t had one that I can recall as a pro. I was probably about 14 the last time it happened.”

“I would love for a bomb to drop on it and blow it up to oblivion, to be honest.”

Those early season creases looked to have been ironed out of his game as he made a fast start in Dubai this week, and he hovered around the top of the leaderboard after carding rounds of 69 and 66 on Thursday and Friday. However, a few more bogeys on Saturday and Sunday saw him fall out of contention and he finished tied for fourth on eightunder-par.

Norway’s Viktor Hovland won the event on a play-off from England’s Richard Bland at Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis course. Hovland, who started the day six shots off Justin Harding’s overnight lead, carded a final round 66 to move level on 12-under-par with Bland.