Tyrrell Hatton (-15) holed a two-metre putt on the 18th hole to claim victory at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. He then punched the air, roared, and released all his pent-up anger. Liberation.
It’s not that Hatton wins infrequently, but he knows the importance of this triumph. He takes the lead in the Race To Dubai, albeit anecdotally since it’s not his main tour, makes a giant leap in his challenging goal of qualifying by points for the Ryder Cup, and above all, separates the wheat from the chaff. It shows that one can go to LIV Golf and not rest on their laurels. He’s not the only one, far from it, but there aren’t many. Each example should be celebrated. No one has been doing better marketing for the Saudi league in recent months than the temperamental English golfer.
Hatton didn’t exactly stroll around the Emirates, nor did he manage to levitate at any point. It wasn’t an easy victory, far from it. On the contrary, he worked hard to emerge as the champion. Without being a disaster, far from it, he didn’t bring out his best golf this Sunday, but he did showcase the champion’s spirit that accompanies him. He’s a competitor through and through. Whether it’s winning at darts in the Team Cup locker room or sticking his head through the handle of the Dubai teapot, he hit the shots he needed to hit when it mattered.
Hatton made the most of his fairways hit. He caught seven and made birdie on five of them. His five birdies of the day. The artist of the closely mown grass. The only two fairways he left alive were the 8th and 14th (no birdie). In the first case, with the goring he received yesterday, he simply put it on the green. In the second, it was simply his worst shot of the day.
The champion turned the tournament around with two birdies on holes 5 and 6, two narrow and twisted avenues back and forth on the Majlis course that are not exactly easy. There he took the lead, taking advantage of Daniel Hillier‘s (-14) stumbles and never let go (bogeys 1 and 5). The New Zealander started worse than he finished. He was a more than worthy opponent, but he lacked the edge that Hatton has in abundance. He never let go of the Englishman’s wheel and managed to put a lot of pressure on him on the 18th, but it wasn’t enough. He lacked the touch of the great champions.
The coup de grâce came on the 16th hole. Hatton unleashed an extraordinary strike with a one-shot lead. A colossal drive and a wedge to a metre from the flag. I’m Tyrrell, and I’ve come to win this tournament, should read, if it existed, the plaque of that shot. There he gained a two-shot advantage and settled it with two pars, suffering on the 18th to close the victory with a par. Perhaps too conservative on that final hole, hitting with a 3-wood from the tee, a poor shot, and playing too short on the second. He simply thought: if he wants to win or tie, let him make the eagle, something that is far from easy.
It wasn’t a head-to-head between Hatton and Hillier, but almost. The rest of the contenders never really got into the real fight. Laurie Canter (-13) came close with a great final push, two birdies on holes 17 and 18, but his chances of victory slipped away with two makeable and missed putts on 15, for par, and on 16, for birdie. Rory McIlroy (-12) wasn’t too far off, but in reality, he lacked many shots from the first three days to challenge Hatton. It would have been wonderful to have a more evenly matched Sunday between them. Similarly, Niklas Norgaard (-12) came in fourth from behind. Another warning from the Dane after a more than decent Team Cup.
It’s Hatton’s eighth victory on the DP World Tour and his fifth Rolex Series of his career. He ties with Jon Rahm as the players who have won this series of extraordinary tournaments the most times.
