PINEHURST, N.C. – Tyrrell Hatton is always mad. Well, almost always.
After posting a second-round 1-over 71 on Friday at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s No. 2 Course, he conceded that he was “fairly happy” to be in red figures at 1-under 139 through 36 holes and within striking distance of the lead heading into the weekend at the 124th U.S. Open.
Asked to name when he’s been happiest this week, he paused and considered. Desserts ranging from chocolate mousse with shortbread on Wednesday and peanut butter brownies on Thursday made by the chef at the house he’s sharing with Matthew Fitzpatrick have been “off-the-charts good,” he said. “I’m in my happy place.”
That’s a far cry from his attitude on the golf course when things don’t go his way — his many club tosses, kicks and F-bombs have become legendary. But just how much have those unsportsmanlike moments cost him in fines?
“I think you’d actually be shocked because you’re thinking it’s ridiculous amounts,” he said. “Now, don’t get me wrong; it’s still a lot of money, but it is nowhere near – give me your best guess.”
A reporter threw out $100,000.
“Mate, you are not even close,” Hatton said, his smile growing wider.
Higher, he was asked.
“I think even with the DP World Tour, I reckon I haven’t reached double digits,” he said. It’s still quite a bit of money, but it’s nowhere near where you were saying.”
Clearly, the fines haven’t kept up with the purse inflation but that’s a story for another time. Hatton had some moments where he could’ve lost his mind and no one would’ve been surprised on Friday. None more so than at the 13th when his second shot struck just behind the hole, bounced and hit the flagstick and proceeded to roll off the green and into a bunker.
“That wasn’t a nice break,” he said. “I hit four good shots there and walked off with 5. Not ideal.” But he said he’s done better than most weeks in keeping a calm body.
“I’m trying not to sort of blow up too much because I’m trying to give myself a little bit of grace on occasions,” he said.
Asked to describe what’s going on in his mind while he’s playing, Hatton said, “Sort of internally screaming for the most part. Yeah, there’s just no, like, rest. There’s no easy shots. It’s quite a stressful five and a half hours, to be honest.”
“Some guys can bottle it up,” he added. “I’m not afraid to just get it out of my system.”
The U.S. Open has a way of getting under the skin of most every player and so Hatton mused that it is actually a bit more of a fair fight given that everyone is on the verge of going mental.
U.S. OPEN: Leaderboard | Hole-by-hole | How to watch
“With it being harder a lot of guys sort of losing their head, it sort of brings them to my level because I just lose my head every week,” he said with a smile. “They can kind of experience what it’s like in my head for a week.”
There is one more reason why Hatton should be happy with his position heading into the weekend in the North Carolina sandhills: “I literally didn’t think I was going to break 80,” he said after playing his first practice round earlier this week.
Instead, the Englishman, who was able to keep his wits and win the Arnold Palmer Invitational in U.S. Open-like conditions in 2020, is lurking and with a chance to win his first major. That would be madness.
