Final hole birdie gives Hatton a record third title
Tyrrell Hatton was acclaimed the greatest champion in the history of the Alfred Dunhill Links after becoming the first to win a record third title after a thrilling day of golf on the Old Course.
He sank a four-foot putt for a birdie three on the historic 18th green at St Andrews to beat Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts, after the two had been locked together all day in a tense battle. It meant he added another Dunhill success to his victories in 2016 and 2017.
He said: “It feels good. This is the first time I've actually won the tournament with my dad here, so it means a lot. And to do it at the Home of Golf is really special. Hard to describe. At the start of the week, the goal was to try to win the tournament. So to be sitting here next to the trophy again, feels great, and I was relieved to get over the line. The last seven holes were pretty stressful. To hit a nice tee shot down 15 and a good 7-iron in there settled me down a little bit.”
Tyrrell and his dad Jeff had also been in contention for the Team Championship, but they lost out by two shots to Thorbjorn Olesen & Dermot Desmond.
He said: “Playing alongside my dad has been awesome. We are pretty fortunate. This is the third time we've been able to play this tournament together, and I think finally this year, my dad sort of settled down and he actually played some good golf. He played unreal yesterday, which was nice to see.”
With just a one-shot lead over Nicolas Colsaerts overnight, most of the Scottish galleries probably expected Hatton to break away, but the brilliant golf of the third round that tied the course record at St Andrews was not there today. However, he was strong and relentless and did not let a few mistakes disturb him.
His problems came at the 13th where he had a double bogey six after driving into a bunker, and again at the par five 14th, where he would normally be looking for a birdie, but ended up with bogey.
He had five birdies, including the vital one at the 18th, to give himself a two-under-par 70 for a 24-under-par total of 264, and one of the most memorable victories of his life.
During the day, one by one the challengers had begun to narrow the gap and put pressure on him. France’s Tom Vaillant reached 22-under, then faded away, while Spain’s David Puig briefly got to 23-under before a double bogey at the 12th and a visit to the Road Hole bunker ended his hopes. And Colsaerts was always there.
For a moment it looked like Tommy Fleetwood might catch Hatton and Colsaerts but a couple of short birdie putts refused to drop and when his second shot at the 18th ran back into the Valley of Sin, his challenge was over and he finished with a 67 for a 21-under-par total and left the arena to Hatton and Colstaert to fight it out for victory.
Colsaerts said: “It's a bit bittersweet, but I’m pretty proud. I’ve played well in this event before, but to be able to put a couple of good rounds together in a position that I haven't really been in the last couple of years is quite good. I was able to hit some amazing shots down the last couple holes.
“I'm so happy to be here. I want to thank Johann Rupert for giving me an invite six days ago to play in this. Having no category and getting to play these events and play so well in them is satisfying, and I was really happy to get a shot at it.”
Meanwhile Bob MacIntyre will have to wait another year to succeed Colin Montgomerie as the last Scottish winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links back in 2005. He finished on 14-under-par, alongside fellow countryman Scott Jamieson, and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who once again was the darling of the galleries. He did not win, but he made many youngsters happy with the time he devoted to them.
