There will be few people more surprised at Tyrrell Hatton's superb 62 in the second round of The Sentry than the Englishman himself after he defied flight disruptions and a lack of practice to card his lowest round as a professional.
Hatton flew up the leaderboard on Friday in Hawaii after a stellar 11-under-par display, his round concluding with a remarkable back nine finish that featured six birdies and a near 100-foot eagle putt on the 18th.
The 32-year-old has played just once since the Ryder Cup - at the DP World Tour Championship in November - and said his practice over Christmas involved little more than half an hour per day in his dad's indoor studio.
Combine that with a 25-hour journey full of disruption, and Hatton was less than confident heading into the week. And yet, he now goes into Saturday just one shot behind World No.1 Scottie Scheffler at the top of the leaderboard.
"If I'm being honest, body didn't feel great, and tee to green wasn't, didn't feel amazing," Hatton said after his round.
What a finish 😲@TyrrellHatton couldn't help but smile after his eagle on 18 @TheSentry. https://t.co/5Mrn8npolI pic.twitter.com/x69OMatrRoJanuary 5, 2024
"I had a mad day on the greens. Every putt I seemed to look at went in, which is a nice feeling. Hopefully, that continues over the weekend."
Earlier in the week, Xander Schauffele spoke in great depth about his ten-week fitness plan to add distance during the off-season. Hatton took the opposite approach, enjoying a much-needed break during the off-season but is certainly feeling the effects of the time off.
"I'm very stiff. I wouldn't say I looked after myself in the December period, maybe that played a part," he reflected. "My body hasn't been moving well. I'm sure if you had seen some flight tracers of some of my tee shots you would be disgusted.
"They're kind of going into not too bad of spots, so, yeah, managing fairly well at the moment. I guess it shows how much of a stupid game it is."
Hatton has rarely competed at the Sentry, preferring - in a similar vein to Rory McIlroy - to begin his calendar year in Dubai on the DP World Tour.
If the Englishman can stay the course and secure his first PGA Tour win since 2020, though, he may be willing to look past the hellish journey and state of his body come Monday morning. "I'm a plank of wood as it is, by the end of that trip it's going to be brutal," he joked.
