Tyrrell Hatton has had one of the best years in his career, climbing to 23rd in the world rankings having won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the back end of 2016.
In part one of our featured interview he revealed all about his Masters invite, his mental game and a slightly odd birdie superstition with a banana.
Now Hatton tells NCG of his love for Wentworth, what it meant to get in the winners’ circle, and and looks back on his tied fifth finish at the Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Where have the big learning curves been over the past year?
Wentworth was a big one for me as it’s a tournament that means more to me than most. It is the one I grew up watching, going there every year as a kid and being in awe of the players. On the Sunday last year I was going out in the final group, one off the lead and the first time I’ve been in a final group.
I didn’t get off to a fast start with some pars and I missed some opportunities, got frustrated and tried forcing it. Obviously I made some mistakes and went backwards. Ricey (Chris Rice, Hatton’s caddie) said to me walking down 18 that you’ll learn from this. If I had been two under for that round then I would have been leading coming down the 18th.
It shows you can’t get ahead of yourself and it’s so important to just focus on the present and stay relaxed. That is one thing I definitely tried doing in the Scottish Open as I was again in the final group and I held a good putt to finish outright second behind Alex Noren. I didn’t win but I handled the situation a lot better than I did at Wentworth.
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When you first went to Wentworth as a youngster, who would be the first player you would try and watch?
Well, my earliest memory of Wentworth was when they had the Volvo Match Play and Vijay Singh nearly killed me. He nearly took my head off up by the green so I remember that but luckily it didn’t hit me. I would generally follow Colin Montgomerie. When I was younger Callaway would help me out and he was with Callaway so he would be the first person I would try and watch.
How much did you think about the need to win at the Dunhill last year?
Part of me wondered if I ever would win, it is only human to think like that. It is funny, I just had a feeling that I was going to play well, with Ricey alongside me, the format and playing with my good friend Ross Fisher on the final day helped.
The whole day I was relaxed. Obviously I was nervous but I always felt like I was going to play well. And I went out in four under…
Did you know what the course record on the Old Course was as you were making birdie after birdie on the Saturday?
I didn’t have a clue. I’ve never shot 10 under before in any round, even just messing about at home. I birdied the 14th and then the next and got to nine under after a three at the 17th. I was like, this is your chance, you’ve got to shoot 10 under and I got it in nice and close with my second shot to the last so had a tap in. Then I got told it was the course record and I couldn’t believe it.
Was there a shot on the Sunday which particularly relaxed you?
I birdied the 12th and the 14th to go six under for the day. I was sort of relaxed and then I hit a 9-iron on the 15th to about six feet and, after I hit that shot, I just felt I was going to win. And then I pulled a 7-iron into the Road Hole bunker and I thought I was going to be in there until it got dark!
St Andrews has played a prominent part in your career. What was it like to play in the 2010 Open there as an amateur?
I did regional qualifying at Gog Magog and I actually got through there in a play-off. I think I shot two under and ended up in a five man play-off for three spots and I birdied the first play-off hole which was nice.
Then I ended up going to Ladybank for local qualifying and I think I shot four under and two under so finished tied first with Phil Archer. The actual Open was amazing. It was weird as I wasn’t nervous during the tournament or on the 1st tee.
I was nervous when I got to the range on the Monday. I’d just rocked up to hit balls and Angel Cabrera was next to me just ripping his driver. I was there thinning lob wedges down there and I was thinking this could be a long week.
And you got the wrong half of the draw?
I was a bit unlucky there but that’s what the Open is about isn’t it – part of it is the luck of the draw.
Then last year at Royal Troon was different to all your other Open experiences?
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The big thing for me is that it was my fifth Open and I hadn’t made the cut so I didn’t want to miss another one after coming off such a good week before at the Scottish.
In the end it was such an amazing week, I finished in the top five and walking up 18 on the Sunday, with the packed grandstands, it was really loud and I got an amazing ovation. Walking up to the green I had goosebumps.
People will look back at that Open in the years to come and say that might have been the best Open ever and you’re in the top 5 players…
It was bizarre because normally when you’re fifth in the tournament you know you’re doing really well. But because Mickelson and Stenson were playing a different course and were so far in front, it didn’t actually feel like we were doing that well, it was weird.
Obviously when you finish and look at the leaderboard, you have to pinch yourself: I’d just finished 5th in the Open.
Could you try putting it into perspective how good those two were that week?
Just unbelievable. For me, I grinded a score that week. I think I had 10 birdies and dropped six shots all week and what did Stenson finish on, was it 20? So they were 20 and 17. The fact that Stenson finished 14 shots ahead of third, that’s just unbelievable. And Troon is renowned for being one of the toughest Open venues.
And then another top 10 two weeks later at the PGA…
I have played in two PGA Championships – I was 10th last year and 25th at Whistling Straits. That was the first time I had made the cut in a Major. Baltusrol was an incredible course, I think playing it was better than how it came across on TV and I actually preferred it to Whistling Straits. My favourite kind of courses are tree-lined.
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Is 23rd in the world a good reflection of where you are at the moment? Only five members of the European Ryder Cup are now above you in the rankings…
I’ve obviously had a good six months and a good end to the year. I think the main thing for me now is to keep progressing and improving and to try to climb up the rankings as much as I can. I don’t feel like I was close to getting into the Ryder Cup, I didn’t ever think that I would be getting a wildcard pick, that’s for sure.
Some people were suggesting you though – you were one of the in-form players.
I’d had a good run. I went out and played the Wyndham in late August. It was a pretty tough week with the issues that I had with travelling out there and then I didn’t hole any putts and missed the cut. It was double Ryder Cup points compared to what they were playing for in the Czech but the reason why I played the Wyndham was that I was 128th on the money list on the PGA Tour and, if I’d had a good week, I would probably have got my card for this season.
Did you speak to Darren Clarke at all about the Ryder Cup?
No, nothing.
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