Tyrrell Hatton survived a late stumble to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for a record third time at St Andrews.
Hatton, who had equalled the course record at the same venue with a 61 on Saturday, birdied the 18th to card a closing 70 and finish 24 under par, a shot ahead of Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts.
Colsaerts left a long eagle putt from the Valley of Sin eight feet below the hole and was unable to convert the birdie attempt.
Shane Lowry was the best of the Irish contingent after the final round, finishing a tied 12th on 16 under. Rounds of 69 and 68 for Párdraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy respectively brought them to 14 under, while Tom McKibbin was further back the field on 12 under.
Hatton, who also finished second in the team event with his father Jeff, told Sky Sports: “It feels good.
“It’s 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. I’m trying not to cry to be honest. I’m a bit lost for words.”
Birdies on the second, fifth, 10th and 11th had given Hatton a comfortable three-shot lead with six holes to play, only for the Ryder Cup star to run up a double bogey on the 13th and drop another shot on the next, each time finding a bunker off the tee.
Colsaerts had also bogeyed the 13th but birdied the 15th to get on level terms, something which came as a surprise to Hatton.
“To be honest I actually didn’t know what the scores were from when we left the halfway house,” Hatton added. “There’s a nice TV in there but the first leader board I saw was on the 17th green.
“When I made double on 13 and then bogeyed 14 I didn’t realise I was still around the lead. I just tried my best on every shot coming in and then I see where we’re actually at on the 17th green. Then I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.
“I actually stood over the ball on the 18th tee and was like ‘Please don’t hit it out of bounds’, which is not a good though process. Luckily managed to hit a good shot and that chip shot there was great.
“I played that with a pitching wedge and it’s not normally a shot 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 just so relieved when it went in.”
Hatton’s victory secures his place in the DP World Tour’s season-ending event in Dubai and ensures he can also attend the upcoming wedding of Ryder Cup team-mate Matt Fitzpatrick.
“I was meant to be going to Fitzy’s wedding the week of Spain (Andalucia Masters) and I had to message him a few weeks ago to say if I don’t earn enough points I might not be able to go and I felt so bad about that.
“I guess having a little bit of extra motivation to play well and be able to be there for their special day (was good).”
Colsaerts, who was seeking his first victory since the 2019 French Open, was left to rue missed birdie chances around the turn as much as the one on the 18th.
“I’m pretty proud,” he said. “I played well in this event before, but to be able to putt a couple good rounds together, get all the way to the end in a position that I haven’t really been in the last couple of years is quite good, of course.
“When you finish like that it’s a bit bittersweet. But if you look at what happened during the day, the way it all panned out, it was probably eight, nine, 10, 11 (which were key).
“People might look at the last but I could have maybe done a little bit better throughout the middle of the round.”
Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen and Irish businessman Dermot Desmond won the team event on 48 under par, two shots ahead of Hatton and his father.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
