Hatton grumbles, groans and gestures on his Tour return
Tyrrell Hatton was the same old Tyrrell Hatton when the LIV Golf player returned thanks to a loophole to the DP World Tour in the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry.
Watched by a huge crowd at the Sutton Coldfield venue, the two-time Ryder Cup player and highest-ranked golfer in the field opened with a threeunder 69 to sit handily-placed on his return to the circuit.
It was the worst score he could have signed for, though, and from start to finish it was typical Tyrrell as he groaned, grumbled and gestured on the greens in particular and was absolutely fuming after missing a short par putt on the 18th following one of the best bunker shots of his career.
He’d calmed down a bit by the time he chatted to a few reporters outside the iconic clubhouse at the Ryder Cup venue but smiled after being asked by The Scotsman if there was ever going to be a time when he might change when it comes to reacting to certain situations.
“I’m not going to change at 32,” he replied. “I was 22 when I started out on the DP World Tour so, if I’ve not changed in ten years, then I don’t think I can change. I’m just reacting to things in the moment. Sure, there are times when I wish
I didn’t say certain words and some things come out that you wish you could take back. But, at the end of the day, it’s just a reaction. I guess I can’t apologise for being myself.
“I feel like for the most part I have been good at letting everyone know that I’m not happy, but then generally over the next shot I am pretty focused. Sometimes it does get the better of me and I do lose my focus and compound the error, which isn't ideal. But, as I’ve got older, I’ve got better at not making that mistake too often.”
In the first counting event for next year’s Ryder Cup, Hatton marked his competitive debut on the Brabazon Course by carding five birdies to sit just two shots off the lead, shared by fellow Englishman Paul Waring and Frenchman Jeong-weon Ko in the $3.5 million event. “I played some pretty good golf today, missed pretty much every putt I looked at and don't think I could have scored much worse, to be honest,” reflected Hatton of his afternoon’s work. “But three under is not the end of the world in the first round of the tournament and the long game’s good, so there are positives there.”
On what happened at the last, he added: “You'd rather hit it out to 20 or 30 feet and two putt. You hit an unreal bunker shot and then miss from three and a half feet it's annoying. Any time you finish a round on missing a short putt it's always a bit more frustrating.”
Stephen Gallacher joined Hatton in a big group on three under late in the day. “I putted great today, which I’ve not been doing this season,” said the 49-year-old. “I changed back to a conventional Scotty Cameron putter and also changed my grip, going back to basics. I’ve had some good results here and love it.”
On a day when Ewen Ferguson had to settle for a 74 in the company of Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, Calum Hill chipped in twice on his back nine to finish on level par alongside Richie Ramsay and Connor Syme.