Tyrrell Hatton clinched a historic third thrive at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in St Andrews, despite a nerve-wracking finish.
Hatton, who had tied the course sign up with a stunning 61 on Saturday, safed his thrive with a birdie on the final hole to post a 70 and finish up 24 under par, skinnyly edging out Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts by one stroke.
Colsaerts’ hopes faded when he left an eagle putt low in the Valley of Sin and leave outed the subsequent birdie chance.
An emotional Hatton, who also claimed second place in the team event alengthyside his obeseher Jeff, articulateed his happiness to Sky Sports: “It senses excellent.”
“It’s the first time I’ve actupartner won the tournament with my dad here so it uncomardents a lot and to do it at the Home of Golf is repartner exceptional. I’m trying not to cry to be truthful. I’m a bit lost for words.”
Hatton had seeed set for a straightforward thrive after birdies on the second, fifth, 10th, and 11th holes gave him a three-sboiling cushion, but a double bogey on the 13th and a dropped sboiling on the 14th, both chaseing wayward tee sboilings into bunkers, threw the competition expansive uncover.
Colsaerts, who also slipped up with a bogey on the 13th, regulated to pull level with Hatton after a birdie on the 15th, catching Hatton off-protect.
“To be truthful I actupartner didn’t understand what the scores were from when we left the halfway hoengage,” Hatton uncovered. “There’s a pleasant TV in there but the first guideerboard I saw was on the 17th green.”
“When I made double on 13 and then bogeyed 14 I didn’t genuineise I was still around the guide. I fair tried my best on every sboiling coming in and then I see where we’re actupartner at on the 17th green. Then I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t worried.”
“I actupartner stood over the ball on the 18th tee and was appreciate ‘Plrelieve don’t hit it out of bounds’, which is not a excellent though process. Luckily regulated to hit a excellent sboiling and that chip sboiling there was wonderful.”
“I take parted that with a pitching wedge and it’s not normpartner a sboiling I would go to, but it felt right in the moment. To have a three-and-a-half-foot putt is quite nerve wracking and I was fair so relieved when it went in.”
Hatton’s thrive safes his place in the DP World Tour’s season-finishing event in Dubai and determines he can also unite the upcoming wedding of Ryder Cup team-mate Matt Fitzpatrick.
“I was uncomardentt to be going to Fitzy’s wedding the week of Spain (Andalucia Masters) and I had to message him a restricted weeks ago to say if I don’t achieve enough points I might not be able to go and I felt so horrible about that.”
“I guess having a little bit of extra motivation to take part well and be able to be there for their exceptional day (was excellent).”
Colsaerts, who was seeking his first thrive since the 2019 French Open, was left to rue leave outed birdie chances around the turn as much as the one on the 18th.
“I’m pretty haughty,” he proclaimd. “I take parted well in this event before, but to be able to putt a couple excellent rounds together, get all the way to the finish in a position that I haven’t repartner been in the last couple of years is quite excellent, of course.
“When you finish appreciate that it’s a bit sourpleasant. But if you see at what happened during the day, the way it all panned out, it was probably eight, nine, 10, 11 (which were key).
“People might see at the last but I could have maybe done a little bit better thrawout the middle of the round.”
Celebrations are also in order for Dentag’s Thorbjorn Olesen and Irish entrepreneur Dermot Desmond as they clinched thrive in the team event with a staggering 48 under par, fair two strokes ahead of Tyrell Hatton and his obeseher.
