Tyrrell Hatton experienced the full spectrum of golf’s emotional torture within two iron shots during his final round as he chased victory at LIV Golf UK on Sunday. The Ryder Cup star started the day two shots behind leader Andy Ogletree at JCB Golf & Country Clun in Staffordshire, but his chances of victory and the £3.1million top prize were dealt a hammer blow at the par-four sixth.
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The Englishman, who quit the PGA Tour and joined the breakaway league earlier this year, claimed his first LIV victory in Nashville last month. But his hopes of making it two wins in three starts on the Saudi Arabia-backed circuit were dealt a blow as he reached the sixth hole on Sunday.
The 32-year-old High Wycombe native struck a sensational tee shot at the par-three fifth, missing coming up just a couple of inches short of a hole-in-one. “Oh my god, how close was that?” the ever-emotional Hatton said on the broadcast, but he could have few complaints as he tapped in for birdie to close in on American leader Ogletree.
His charge was halted at the tricky 485-yard par-four sixth, though. Hatton found himself in prime position off the tee, leaving a relatively straightforward uphill approach to the green. But, somehow, the world No. 25 pulled his effort way left of the target, bouncing over a path to find a patch of thick rough.
Hatton’s expression said it all as he called "fore" to spectators in the line of his shot, which was so inaccurate that it sailed over their heads. It was a shot that a 20-handicapper would be disgusted with.
The three-time Ryder Cup veteran caught a brutal lie in the thick stuff and could not reach the green with his pitch shot. His fourth was not much better, running across the putting surface into the rough. An unconvincing fifth followed to leave a testing six-footer for par.
To his credit, Hatton drained the putt and responded impressively at the 470-yard par-four seventh, making a birdie to breathe life into his bid for victory.
Hatton’s hopes received a further boost at the 421-yard par-four eighth where Ogletree found trouble with his approach before three-putting for a double bogey. Ogletree, who has just one top-25 finish this season, slipped back to 12-under as a result, and he was soon surpassed by Hatton’s charging Legion XIII teammate Jon Rahm.
The Spaniard, chasing his first win since his blockbuster £450m move to LIV in December, made his fourth birdie of the day at the short par-four 12th, finding the green with his tee shot and two-putting for a straightforward birdie to hit the front with six holes to play.
