ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — If there’s any room left on the plinth of the Old Tom Morris statue, they may have to plonk a bronze bust of Tyrrell Hatton onto it at this rate.
Victory in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship over the Old Course on Sunday was the Englishman’s third success in the Pro-Am contest. In the home of the game, Hatton once again prospered in his golfing home from home.
It all came down to a shoot-out on the 18th as Hatton and the gallant Belgian, Nicolas Colsaerts, marched up the final hole in a tie at the top. Things were so tight, you half expected them to reach for their dueling pistols as they clumped over Grannie Clark’s Wynd.
Hatton made his statement of intent when he dunted a neatly executed chip to within three feet. Over to you Nicolas.
Colsaerts opted for the putter from around 25 yards but, having struggled with the long ones for much of the day, his eagle attempt came up about 10-feet short.
The former Ryder Cup player, who trundled in a brave putt from a similar distance on the 17th to keep himself in a share of the lead, couldn’t make this one for his birdie, though.
Hatton stepped in to gobble up his own birdie from short range to post a 2-under 70 for a 24-under aggregate and a narrow, one-shot victory.
As well as the silverware and a check for $800,000, Hatton’s win also secures the LIV Golf player a spot in the DP World’s season-ending bonanza in Dubai in November. The fact his dad, Jeff, was by his side as part of the Pro-Am team affair added an extra dollop of icing to the cake.
“This is the first time I’ve actually won the tournament with my dad here so it means a lot,” said Hatton as he referenced those earlier wins in 2016 and 2017 that were father free.
“It was a relief to get over the line. The last seven holes were pretty stressful.”
Hatton certainly didn’t do those stress levels any favors when he double-bogeyed the 13th and leaked another on the 14th. “I probably shouldn’t repeat what I said to myself then,” he added with a grin.
Up until that shoogle, Hatton had been making purposeful strides and was three clear after birdies at 10 and 11. Colsearts, meanwhile, had failed to capitalize on decent birdie chances around the turn but Hatton’s mishaps gave him renewed hope.
Spain’s LIV rebel, David Puig, had threatened to gatecrash affairs as he covered his first 10 holes in 8 under to get within striking distance but he slithered away on the run-in.
When Colsaerts birdied the 15th, it was level-pegging but Hatton stood firm and delivered the telling blow on the last as he got his nose over the line in this two-horse race.
It was a sore one for the valiant Colsaerts, who doesn’t have a full category for the tour and was playing on an invitation. “It’s bittersweet,” he said. “If you’d told me earlier in the week that I would finish second, then I would’ve taken it. I’m proud of what I’ve done.”
Having celebrated his dad’s 65th birthday on Saturday night, Rory McIlroy needed a bit more than a session on the range to get in the swing again on the closing Sunday
“A cold shower and a couple of double espressos got me going,” he said with a weary smile after a closing 4-under 68 left World No. 3 with a 14-under tally.
McIlroy has certainly enjoyed the last few weeks back on this side of the pond. The Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship were terrific, late-season showpieces while a whirl around the Old Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie over the last four days is always an experience to savor.
“I’ve absolutely loved them,” said McIlroy, who still leads the Race to Dubai and is eager to top the rankings for a sixth time.
“I appreciate these events more as I get older. The one thing that I love when I come back here is the tournaments just feel a little more authentic and purer and not as corporate.
“Compared to the three FedEx Cup Playoff events (on the PGA Tour), the crowds at the Irish Open and Wentworth, even here as well, were bigger and the atmosphere was better.”
The DP World Tour marketing lot would be cock-a-hoop hearing that. Not so chipper, however, was Robert MacIntyre after joining McIlroy, and his compatriot, Scott Jamieson, on 14 under.
His closing 70 included another damaging exchange with his old foe, the 17th. His double-bogey there on Saturday was followed by a bogey on it in the final round.
Forget the Road Hole. MacIntyre would be happy if was the end of the road for one of golf’s most iconic par-fours.
“Blow it up,” he grumbled. “I don’t think there are many worse holes in world golf. It needs to be a hole you are able to hit a golf shot into and not one where you just hit it onto the green and try to get up and down.”
