The post ‘It’s so hard to hole putts’: Tyrrell Hatton comments on PGA Championship greens appeared first on Golf.

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Augusta National? Unfair. Southern Hills? Bobbly. 

Make that two for two for Tyrrell Hatton in his assessments of major championship courses this year. Watch out, The Country Club (U.S. Open) and St. Andrews (Open Championship). He’s on the grand slam watch. 

The Englishman’s latest fire came after Friday’s second round of the PGA Championship. Winds reaching upward of 40 mph in Tulsa, Okla., had forced the grounds crew not to mow the Southern Hills greens — the thought being that a little extra grass would offer some defense against the gusts — but by the time Hatton reached them in the afternoon, the surfaces had become, in his words, “pretty bobbly.”

In his post-round press conference, Hatton’s first two answers referenced putting. A reporter then asked: “They didn’t cut greens today. Just wondered, they may have got a little slower in the afternoon. Did you feel that was an advantage or disadvantage or any kind of effect on you?”

Tournaments

“I wouldn’t say it’s an advantage,” Hatton said. “I mean, we’re playing a major championship, not a monthly medal. You know, they’re bobbling all over the place. It’s so hard to hole putts. So you can hit a great putt, and they just don’t look like going in, which is hard to accept when we’re playing in a major championship.

“From my point of view, obviously I hope that the greens are nicer over the weekend. But saying that, I still need to be able to hit decent shots to give myself opportunities to make birdies, so just see where that takes us.”

Hatton was then asked if he understood why the greens weren’t cut, and if he was “OK with that.”

Perhaps ironically, he was. 

“Yeah, that totally makes sense with the winds that they had this morning,” Hatton said. “It was pretty brutal with the gusts that they had coming through at the times, and the greens, they’ve got some decent slopes on them, so they can’t make them quick otherwise it’s just — one, it will slow the rounds down even more, and two, pretty much make it unplayable.”

Tournaments

So, in a nutshell, Southern Hills was damned if they did. And damned if they didn’t. Tough scene. Anyway, Hatton’s putting stats supported his frustration. During Friday’s second round, where he shot a two-under 68, he was 97th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, at -0.525. Over his final three holes, Hatton three-putted from 64 feet on 16, missed an 8-footer on 17, and missed a 5-footer on 18. 

Notably, Hatton wasn’t alone in his critique. 

“They’re definitely slower,” said Brooks Koepka, who shot a three-under 67 — and was ninth in SG: Putting. “You figure — they can’t get that fast anyway just because they’re pretty slopey, but I don’t think these green surfaces are the smoothest to begin with.”

Back to Augusta National. 

It was there, during the Masters, where Hatton opened with an even-par 72 — then went 73, 79 and 80. Never shy to express himself to begin with, he found a culprit for the stumble when it was all over with. 

“You can hit good shots here and not get any reward for it. It’s unfair at times,” Hatton said. “I don’t agree with that. If you hit a good shot, you should end up near the hole — not short-sided into a bunker because of the slopes that they’ve created and stuff. Yeah, I don’t think it’s a fair test at times, and when you hit good shots and you’re not rewarded for it, it shows.”

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“It’s not even trying to build on anything for next week. I’m just trying to ideally get off the golf course as fast as possible.”

Hatton is also not alone in his feelings here, either. GOLF’s Alan Bastable wrote back in April that Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf and even Fuzzy Zoeller, who won the tournament in 1979, once filed similar complaints, with Zoeller saying: “I get angry. When I hit a good shot, I like to be semi-rewarded.” 

“I think it’s how the course is set up in general,” Hatton also said at this year’s Masters. “You don’t really have to miss a shot, and your next one you’ll have — you’re really struggling to make par.

“With how it runs off the greens here and the slopes that you are then chipping into and how obviously it’s cut, it just makes it really hard to even get chip shots close. I think everything is exaggerated here.”

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Tiger Woods wasn’t the only Masters participant struggling with an injured leg this week at Augusta National.

Tyrrell Hatton’s caddie, Mick Donaghy, was tooling around the hilly layout on a bum knee.

“This is actually his last event for a while,” Hatton said of his looper on Sunday afternoon. “He is going to go home and see a doctor and find out what the next step is for him. Obviously, at this moment we don’t know how long he won’t be able to caddie for.”

Donaghy insisted he was able to fulfill his duties next week at Harbour Town, which is a flat course, but Hatton wouldn’t have it. No point putting more stress on the knee.

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“He has had the issue for quite a long time, so I said I would rather he just gets home, sees a doctor, and the sooner that he has a diagnosis on it and what the relevant steps are to move forward,” Hatton said. “Obviously hopefully he is not out for too long, but for his sake, he needs to get it right before he comes out.”

That much was clear this week, on a course with climbs that cumulatively equate to 50 stories.

“A tough walk for even the fittest caddies,” Hatton said. “Obviously, the bags are pretty heavy, and with the slopes that they’re walking up and down, it’s tough. He struggled to get through four days.”

Earlier in the week, Hatton lightened his caddie’s load, taking the bag from Donaghy and toting it up the hill on the par-5 8th. On Sunday, Hatton took on more looping duties, when he lugged his own bag down the par-5 2nd, after he’d played his second shot out of the fairway bunker.

Hatton, who was paired with Billy Horschel in the fourth round, said in that instance that he was merely trying to help keep up pace of play. “[Donaghy] was raking where I went in the bunker, and then he also raked Billy’s mark,” Hatton said. “So it was just a case of just getting down there.”

Albeit with a 50-pound bag slung over his shoulder.

It was a tough week for Hatton who shot 80 on Sunday and finished at 17 over par, in last place among those players who made the cut. After his round, he explained that not only does Augusta National not suit his eye but it also doesn’t reward good shots.

Still, Hatton seemed to take his struggles in stride, joking, “Maybe I’ll be better off if I come back being a caddie here rather than trying to hit golf shots.”

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tyrrell Hatton has never warmed to the Masters. Before this year, he’d made five appearances, twice missing the cut. On two other occasions, he finished outside the top 40 before notching his first top-20 finish — a T18 — a year ago thanks to a fourth-round 68.

This year? Hatton regressed to the mean. Augusta National has played tough this week, with gusting winds and chilly temperatures giving the field fits through the first three rounds. Hatton was among its victims. He posted a solid even-par 72 on Thursday, but his scores devolved from there.

Friday: 73.

Saturday: 79, including two doubles and a triple.

Sunday: 80, including two doubles.

“I’m glad it’s over,” Hatton said after his fourth round. “I think that’s a pretty good way to sum it up. Obviously, disappointed, but I just never do well here. This course doesn’t really suit my eye, to be honest, so, yeah, it’s just one of those weeks that I feel like if I come back in the future, it’s just a case of trying to get through the best that I can.”

If I come back is not a phrase you hear often from the game’s best players — Hatton is ranked 16th in the world — when it comes to the Masters. But that’s what this course has done to the 30-year-old Englishman. He’s frustrated, flummoxed, fed up. Hatton’s primary beef: the slick topsy-turvy greens and the severe banks and mounding that surround them.  

“You can hit good shots here and not get any reward for it. It’s unfair at times,” Hatton said. “I don’t agree with that. If you hit a good shot, you should end up near the hole — not short-sided into a bunker because of the slopes that they’ve created and stuff. Yeah, I don’t think it’s a fair test at times, and when you hit good shots and you’re not rewarded for it, it shows.”

“It’s not even trying to build on anything for next week. I’m just trying to ideally get off the golf course as fast as possible.”

Complaints about how the Masters tournament committee sets up the course aren’t common but they’re not unprecedented, either. Lee Trevino famously has never been fond of the course. Same goes for Tom Weiskopf, the 1973 British Open winner who is now a respected course designer. “Back in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, alone there are four courses…as good as Augusta,” Weiskopf said in 1978. “You can go elsewhere, too, and find other courses that play as challengingly without having to resort to putting the pins on slopes and knolls.”

A decade later, Fuzzy Zoeller, who won the green jacket as a Masters rookie in 1979, took a flamethrower to Augusta National, hitting on many of the same notes as Hatton. “I’d like to hear those cheers of Augusta again some time,” Zoeller said. “It’s not the same place any more. It’s like going into a morgue. No screamin’, yellin’, hollerin’.”

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And this was after Zoeller had shot a 66.

“I get angry,” he continued. “When I hit a good shot, I like to be semi-rewarded . . . We don’t mind fast greens, but when you see guys hit their best shot in there and it bounds 40 feet. … You can go elsewhere, too, and find other courses that play as challengingly without having to resort to putting the pins on slopes and knolls.”

Hatton didn’t say which holes or shots in particular irked him Sunday, but a quick review of his round reveals a couple of potential candidates. On the par-3 3rd, he hit his tee shot into the upper-middle portion of the green, but it didn’t hold, trundling off the back edge. At the par-5 15th, his wedge approach trampolined off the back of the green, leaving him a dastardly chip to a back pin. (He made bogey.)

The speed and breaks of Augusta’s greens also proved a mighty challenge for Hatton. Statistically, he is the best putter on the PGA Tour this season, but through the first two rounds this week, he was dead last in Putts Per Hole. In the third round, Hatton ran a 30-footer on the 13th green 6 feet past the cup. When he missed the comebacker for double-bogey, Hatton wielded his putter like a rifle and pretended to fire off shots.

“I think it’s how the course is set up in general,” he said Sunday afternoon, still licking his wounds after finishing 17 over. “You don’t really have to miss a shot, and your next one you’ll have — you’re really struggling to make par. With how it runs off the greens here and the slopes that you are then chipping into and how obviously it’s cut, it just makes it really hard to even get chip shots close. I think everything is exaggerated here.”

A reporter pointed out to Hatton that on other courses that haven’t suited his eye, he still has found a way to play well. But that has decidedly not been the case at this Masters.

“Yeah,” Hatton said. “I haven’t enjoyed it.”

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — If there’s one part of Tyrrell Hatton’s game that gave him an edge this week at Augusta National, it was his putting.

Hatton isn’t just a good putter — he is, at this moment, the best, leading the PGA Tour in the holy trinity of SG: Putting (1.168!), Putts Per Round (27.32!) and Overall Putting Average (1.518!). The Englishman is also second in 3-Putt Avoidance (1.01%) and third in One-Putt Percentage (45.71%). He’s deadly from any distance but particularly from short range: from 10 feet and in this season, Hatton has converted 91.88% of his attempts (yep, tops on Tour again) and from three feet and in, he’s a perfect 173 for 173.

So, yeah, Hatton had every reason to be bullish about his chances on what are some of the game’s most beguiling greens.

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Through five holes in his first round, Hatton had every reason to continue feeling that way, a stretch that included a two-putt-from-30-feet par at the 1st and a jarred 10-footer for birdie at 2.

Then came the par-3 6th, where Hatton left himself 50-plus feet up a hill to a flag perched on a knob. His first attempt trundled up the slope, stopped at the crest, then started to roll back toward him. When his ball finally came to rest, he had an even longer putt — call it 70 feet — left for par. Determined not to make the same mistake with his next putt, Hatton ran his par try 15 feet by. Two more putts later, he had made a four-putt-double-bogey 5.

Hatton settled down and played the remaining 12 holes in two under, but his putting woes were just beginning.

In the second round, the untidiness started early. He missed a 12-footer for par at the par-4 1st, which led him to swat in frustration at his putter head. At the par-4 7th, he missed from about 10 feet. Bogey. As his ball rolled by the hole, he bent over and stared incredulously at a point on his line, as if a spike mark had redirected his putt. On the par-3 16th, another miss, this one for bogey from 12 feet. As he addressed his ensuing putt, he wound up and took a mighty practice swing, better suited for a driver than a putter.

Our man was running hot, which to Hattonphiles wouldn’t have come as a surprise. Self-expression — especially when things aren’t going swimmingly — has long been another of Hatton’s talents. His most recent viral-ready outburst came at the Players Championship last month, where after barely missing a putt in the third round, he dropped his putter, extended his arms over his head and cried, “Are you f—ing kidding me?!”

Nothing was dropping for Hatton on Friday and that didn’t change at the par-4 17th where he lipped out for bogey from 8 feet. On the walk to the 18th tee, he slid his putter into his bag with vigor.

Hatton’s second-round tally: a two-over 74 that dropped him to two over for the week, 10 back of the leader Scottie Scheffler.

Hatton’s self-assessment: “If anyone has worse numbers than me on the greens this week, I would actually feel sorry for him, because my putting this week is absolutely disgusting.”

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Masters stats are limited but the tournament does make public Putts Per Hole. At the very bottom of the list, just as he surmised, is Hatton’s name, next to a “1.83,” two-tenths of a point behind Bernhard Langer.  

“I didn’t think my score could actually be any worse than what it is, to be honest,” Hatton said. “I hit it lovely yesterday, and then we had a few bad moments today. Obviously, it’s tough out there, but I’m not in a good mood. I’m so frustrated with these greens. It seems every year I play here, I just never hole putts, and this year has been the same.”

Hatton wasn’t done. Like we said, expressive.  

“I’ve wanted to bury my putter several times,” he said. “It’s definitely a love/hate relationship, and there’s a lot of hate at the moment.”

Could the love return on Saturday? It could! Putting is a maddening craft, never to be mastered, even by the best putter on the planet. As Hatton himself said after a round he’d rather forget, “Tomorrow is a new day.”

Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf.

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Tyrrell Hatton admitted play was slow. But he believed a pair of fellow pros could have waited longer. 

“It’s not the right thing to do,” Hatton said. 

His frustration stemmed from consecutive tee shots by the group behind him during Friday’s play at the WGC-Match Play. On the drivable, 291-yard, par-4 13th at Austin Country Club, both Si Woo Kim and Christiaan Bezuidenhout sent golf balls toward the green as Hatton and opponent Daniel Berger putted — Kim’s ball went toward the grandstands to the right, and Bezuidenhout then followed with a ball that fell into the water left and short of the green. 

On Bezuidenhout’s tee shot, Hatton said he told Berger to back off his putt. The players and their caddies then looked toward the tee box behind them, with all but Hatton raising his arms.

“They shouldn’t have been hitting,” said Hatton, the only player among himself, Berger, Kim and Bezuidenhout to talk to reporters afterward. 

Earlier in the round, Hatton and Berger were delayed twice, and Hatton wondered whether that played a part in the tee shots. On the par-4 9th, Hatton and Berger debated where Hatton should take a penalty drop, and on the par-5 12th, each player hit into the water. 

“We had had our troubles down 9, where we were trying to figure out where my ball crossed the hazard,” Hatton said. “And so we were there for a really long time, and then obviously we didn’t play the 12th that fast either. So I imagine it was a pretty slow round for the guys just behind us. I don’t know if that was some frustration in there where they just were fed up waiting and thought that they should hit, which I sympathize the fact that it was slow for them, and I’ve, yeah, you don’t want it to be slow for the group behind and you want to keep moving.

“It felt like a long morning for everyone. But I still don’t think that you should be hitting up when it’s clearly a reachable par-4. Obviously Christiaan just pulled his a little bit, but it didn’t cover. But Si Woo hits it further than him, and, yeah, I mean, I don’t think it was great of them to hit up while we were there.”

On the next hole, the 14th, Hatton said he apologized to Berger for pulling him off his putt. 

“I said to Daniel on the next hole, it’s like, I’m really sorry if I put you off there, but obviously I didn’t want you to hit when I can clearly see that the group behind are playing up,” Hatton said. “So there was no issues there from Daniel and he was like, no, you did the right thing.”

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You’ve been there. We’ve all been there. After a couple of days of uneven golf, a big round looms. Butterflies flutter in your belly. As you approach the range to get loose, you’re overcome by an unsettling mix of optimism and uncertainty. Who knows what’s coming?

Pros feel that weirdness, too.

Ask Tyrrell Hatton. After a steady three-under 69 in the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, the volatile Englishman’s next two rounds were anything but. In the second round, he actually scored one stroke better than his Thursday mark but said he didn’t hit the ball well; he just got lucky with his misses. “I think the score is pretty flattering,” he said. “I know that I can’t keep hitting it that badly certainly with it’s going to be playing much tougher this weekend.”

In the third round, Hatton’s misses caught up to him. Conditions were admittedly challenging at Bay Hill, but Hatton’s ballstriking was once again loose. After seven bogeys, he signed for a six-over 78 that dropped him eight strokes behind 54-hole co-leaders Talor Gooch and Billy Horschel. He did not appear primed for a Sunday charge.  

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That was the head space Hatton occupied when he strolled on to the Bay Hill range Sunday morning. Who knew what was coming?

For starters, one of the worst pull-hooks you’ll ever see from a top-20 player. It came on Hatton’s second driver swing. “I missed the 9th fairway left from the driving range,” Hatton said Sunday evening, recalling the incident with delightful candor. “I didn’t shout fore out of pure embarrassment that no one on a driving range should ever have to shout fore. That kind of shows you how bad it was.”

The swing epitomized what Hatton characterized, all in all, as a “shocking warmup.”

He seemed destined for another 78 (if not 88), but then the darndest thing happened.

“I don’t know what I found, but just started hitting the ball good again,” he said.

Hatton said he liberated himself from the horrors of his range session by having “one simple feeling.” He’s prone to leaning too much into his toes on his backswing, he said, so on Sunday he focused on keeping his weight balanced in the middle of feet. “If I can kind of keep my weight more centered,” he said, “then I’m more likely to strike the ball a bit better.

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“I kind of just went out there with that thought. Today it worked. Some days it does. Some days it doesn’t.”

It worked, all right. During a brutally tough round, when the wind was swirling, the greens were humming and the scoring average was a meaty 75.481, Hatton offset four bogeys with seven birdies to shoot a three-under 69. The rags-to-riches effort rocketed him up the leaderboard; when the dust settled Sunday evening, he found himself in a tie for second with Horschel and Viktor Hovland, good for a cool $908,000.

“My job’s done,” Hatton said after visiting the scorer’s table, with seven pairings ahead of him still on the course. “I’ll just sit back and wait, see what happens, and we’ll go from there.”

A golfer’s job is never done, of course. Next stop for Hatton: the Players Championship, up the road from Bay Hill in Ponte Vedra Beach. The deepest field in golf awaits him. So, too, does more time on the range.

Hopefully without the need to holler “fore!”

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Tyrrell Hatton, the Arnold Palmer Invitational scorecards will tell you, shot a second-round 68, which followed an opening 69. The leaderboards at Bay Hill shared that Hatton was two shots out of the lead after Friday’s morning wave. Good stuff, right?

What say you, Tyrrell …

“I’m not particularly happy with how I hit the golf ball certainly the last few days,” he said. “I think the score is pretty flattering. I’ve putted really good, which is why I’ve got the score that I have, but I know that I can’t keep hitting it that badly certainly with it’s going to be playing much tougher this weekend.

“Hopefully, I can find a golf swing, and hopefully the putt stays up this weekend.”

He was good. He was honest. He was realistic. He was Hatton. 

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Before we go further, some background. This doesn’t happen too often. Pros in Hatton’s spot will find a synonym for “pleased,” mix in a cliche or two and bolt. Maybe it is the truth. But there’s no doubting Hatton. Pessimistic? Sure. But genuine. If you’ve felt that Hatton is one of the more endearing players going, this is why. 

Let’s continue. Hatton’s assessment was spot on. As the afternoon groups began, these were his Strokes Gained numbers: 43rd off the tee, 22nd tee to green, and 82nd approach. In other words, average, at best. And Hatton was fifth around the green, and first in putting. Which meant, he’ll be in the final groups for Saturday’s third round. 

Considering his frustration but also his position on the leaderboard, Hatton was asked if that was “a positive or a negative thing.”  

“Obviously, it’s a positive,” Hatton said. “It’s a great feel this week. A lot of top-class players playing. I know deep down the long game isn’t good enough to have a chance to win if I keep playing like that. So, yeah, I just have to try and figure something out maybe this afternoon.

“I’m not one to go and hit balls after a round, but we only live half an hour away. And I’ll probably go out there maybe this evening and just hit a few and see if I can find a bit more of a positive feeling that will help us feel a bit more comfortable going into the weekend.”

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And Hatton means it when he says he doesn’t hit balls after a round.  

“Like I said, I don’t — I never even — playing poorly, I don’t often go and hit balls,” he said. “But I guess just being in the position I’m in, I want to play better tomorrow and Sunday and take a bit of pressure off my short game. So yeah.”

But it’s not all dire. At least two things are working in his favor. He’s won this event before, in 2000. His red cardigan, given to recent winners, “is hanging nicely in the wardrobe,” he says. 

There’s also his work in and around the greens. On Friday, he took 22 just putts, over 102 feet, 6 inches. Though he’s sincere here, too. 

“To be fair, I’ve always putted well around here,” Hatton said. “I don’t know what it is. I just seem to see the lines clearer than some of the other places that we go to. Generally, my start line’s pretty good. So if I can actually read the greens, then we should be all right. So far, so good.”

And his strategy for playing courses where he doesn’t have the right feel?

“You just avoid them.”

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Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us @golf_com. This week, we break down course-setup comments by Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, the LPGA’s season-opener, wild caddie moves and more.  

1. At the PGA Tour’s American Express (won by Hudson Swafford), world No. 1 Jon Rahm, in a fan video published to social media, was overheard saying to his caddie: “Piece of [expletive] setup. Putting contest week.” This comes on the heels of record low scores at the year-opening Tournament of Champions and a birdie blitz last week at the Sony Open. Is Rahm right? In scorable conditions, do PGA Tour events simply come down to who’s putting best — and, if so, is there anything wrong with that?

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Sean Zak, senior editor (@sean_zak): Yes, he’s right. And this is bound to bother Rahm more than any other player in the world, simply because he’s the best player in the world. He has routinely shown that when conditions are tough, when courses are difficult, he’s going to finish in the top 10. Cream rising to the top, they say. There’s nothing wrong with this happening at a handful of events over the course of the season. The issue is that it happens too often. Where players are not asked to work the ball both ways, to make difficult club choices off every tee box, to use different trajectories into greens. Organizers of the event seem to love the PGA West setup, though. This isn’t changing. 

Michael Bamberger, senior writer: No, all golf scoring is interconnected. The putting contest is grounded in how close you hit it. How close you hit it is related to where you hit your tee shots. BUT I totally understand what Rahm is saying. The harder the course, the smaller the number of people who can win. These desert courses are as easy as it gets, on Tour. That’s OK.

Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): And on that note, remember when PGA West first hosted a Tour event in the ’80s? A bunch of pros thought it was tough to the point of being unfair. They wanted no part of it on a Tour rota.

Nick Piastowski, senior editor (@nickpia): I get what he was saying. It should first be noted that his putting misses in the third round were particularly brutal — shoot, even the Tour tweeted out a video of them — so he was running hot. But I agree with Michael. The putts were dropping more, because players were hitting fairways and greens more. It’s easier to do so on some courses, and that becomes a different style of golf. Not every course is supremely difficult, nor do I think we want every one to be. Now, if they’re all easy …  

2. On the DP World Tour, more course-setup consternation! After making a 9 in the third round on the 646-yard par-5 18th hole at Yas Links, Tyrrell Hatton said of the hole: “What’s wrong with it? Where do you start? It shouldn’t have a bunker in the middle of the fairway, and it shouldn’t be over 600 yards from a forward tee. If you hit a good drive as a pro, you should have at least a chance to go for the green in two, otherwise the hole becomes a par-3, and that’s if you play it well. Hardly anyone will get there in two with the wind even slightly against you.” Let’s set aside Hatton’s gripe with this specific hole and instead discuss his wider point about par-5s. Should all pros, with a good drive, have a chance to reach every par-5 in two?

Zak: I have no issue with a true three-shotter, so long as each of those shots have some level of difficulty layered within them. If the setup that day implies that it’ll take three good ones to reach the putting surface, so be it. The player’s placement anywhere on any hole should always leave some question remaining, whether it’s a risk-reward decision or a discussion on the best angle to hit the approach from. I’m not sure if Yas’ 18th does that, but this YouTube clip says it routinely plays into the wind, so perhaps it might need to be altered from 646 yards. That’s a lot. 

Bamberger: The par-5 is dead. It had a good run.

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Sens: Hatton’s frustration was clouding his thinking there. Nothing wrong with a three-shot par-5, as long as the second shot requires some thinking and execution. The worst par-5s are holes that ask you only to advance your ball on the second shot, with no other considerations. 

Piastowski: Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with a three-shot par-5, but like Sean and Josh said, it should have some creativity mixed in, and not just driver, iron, wedge, putt, putt. And from just a look at the scoring, the hole did play difficult — after all, Hatton took the nine on it. 

3. On the LPGA Tour, Danielle Kang, behind a final-round 68, held off a star-studded field to win the season-opening Tournament of Champions. Also of note on Sunday, world No. 1 Nelly Korda, who entered the round with the lead, stumbled to a three-over 75. Takeaways from week 1?

Zak: Kang has an infectious personality, and I’d love to see her fight for the No. 1 spot in the world ranking. So it’s hard for me to have a takeaway that doesn’t involve wanting this to be a 2022 launching point for her. My only other takeaway is that the frivolity of music playing in the background and all the celebs getting involved kinda makes it feel like an all-star showcase. Why can’t we bring it to Hawaii during the first week of the year, alongside the men?

Sens: That Nelly is human.

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Bamberger: And golf is hard, and four days of it harder yet.

Piastowski: The depth of the women’s game right now is fantastic. Nelly will win her share, but I think we’re going to see a lot of winners this year. 

4. Luke Donald, according to an exclusive report from the Daily Mail, is in line to be named the next European Ryder Cup captain. The report claims that 2020 captain Padraig Harrington, a key member of the five-man committee that chooses Europe’s captain, has given “a ringing endorsement” to Donald’s potential captaincy. Wise choice? And who’s your early pick to helm the American side?

Zak: Donald is a sound choice. He’s squarely in that aging-out-but-still-around-to-compete bracket that seems to bode well for captainship. They weren’t going to make a bad choice. European temperaments are too kind. As for the Americans, the game would be better off with Fred Couples as RC captain, even if that ship has sailed. Zach Johnson seems to be next in line, but he’s still playing a very full schedule. Phil Mickelson is showing no signs of stopping. Tiger is, I think, incapable right now, all due respect. I think Jim Furyk has my vote, huh? 

Sens: Sean’s right about Donald. He’s in that sweet spot. Respected veteran. Ryder Cup experience. Past his peak, competitively. Unless he’s been living in the U.S. so long that we can count on him as a double agent? Agreed that Johnson will be at the American helm. 

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Bamberger: Oh, that’s funny. I’d have preferred to see Rory McIlroy as a playing captain, and Johnson — Dustin Johnson — doing the same on the other side. The event should require playing captains, and no assistants. As is, the captains and the “vice” captains clearly have way too much time on their hands.

Piastowski: Donald is fine. Does Lee Westwood then make the team at 50? As for the Americans, Fred Couples would be my choice. The team will need a cool head in the room when it heads to Italy. But no matter what happens, the captains for the 2025 event have to be Mickelson and Poulter. Those two, with a New York crowd. Love it.  

5. In a bizarre scene during the American Express’ third round, Lee Hodges, tied for the lead at the time, was pulled off a shot by his caddie — in the middle of his backswing. While it turned out to be the right move — Hodges hit the green and birdied the hole — Golf Channel analysts Trevor Immelman and John Cook both said they had never seen such a thing. What’s the boldest move you’ve seen from a Tour caddie?

Zak: Well, there’s Kessler Karain’s dust-up with an Australian spectator during the President’s Cup in 2019 that literally banned him from finishing the competition. But in the lighter category, I loved when Austin Johnson went to retrieve a ball of his brother’s from a hazard (he had to; DJ wasn’t done with the hole yet) and kept his shoes on when he jumped into the water. They were on the 4th hole when it happened, so it made for a squeaky afternoon. 

Sens: What year was it when Brian Stuard’s caddie quit mid-round in Reno? Oh, right, Google tells me it was 2014. That took some chutzpah, as no one on the Tour says.

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Bamberger: Well, Tom Watson’s not on Tour, but his Yiddish is solid. I’m going to leave out the names here, but a long time ago, a caddie quit on a player after he whiffed in the woods and didn’t count it. The player said it wasn’t a whiff — he had aborted his swing. The caddie begged to differ.

Piastowski: I just want to talk more about that move. For anyone who doubts the value of a good caddie, watch the video. He wasn’t just carrying the bag. He was his coach out there. And he legitimately put his job on the line to do so.  

6. In a three-part series on GOLF.com this week, our Michael Bamberger sung the praises of nine-hole golf. What the best, most memorable and/or most fun nine-hole experience you’ve encountered?

Travel

Zak: I need to get this answer written before Dethier logs on. The Valliere nine at Morfontaine was never promised to us, but it came at the end of our playing the 18-hole course. With the sun setting, we were reaching that afternoon golf nirvana where you’re desperate to just … keep … going. Thankfully, a member had joined us and invited us out for the original nine holes constructed on the property. It felt like we were cheating by getting an extra nine holes, but I remember them way more than the other 18. All of them were extremely scorable, Dylan nearly made an ace, I made an eagle, and we capped it off with a quiet beer on the terrace. An experience I’m probably incapable of recreating. 

Sens: Hard to beat Northwood, an Alister Mackenzie nine-holer north of San Francisco. Cut through the redwoods, with such an easy-going atmosphere that visibility is sometimes clouded by a cannabis haze. But I also highly recommend Gleneagles, in San Francisco. Great throwback. Bay views. Compelling test. (Lee Trevino called it one of the toughest nine-holers he ever encountered.) And frequented by time-capsule San Francisco characters.

Bamberger: The nine-hole par-3 course at Augusta National is memorable and beautiful. If you play it with one ball, you’re doing some golfing. I needed one sleeve and part of another. The nine-holer in Edgartown, Mass., is one of my favorite courses — nine or 18 — anywhere. The nine-holer on Mackinac Island is outstanding. Golf’s so-called fifth major is the spring net championship at the St. Martins nine-hole course at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. The third green is one of the best in Philadelphia and its suburbs. Any ball on it, in approach or whole putting, seems to have a life of its own.

Piastowski: The nine holes I’d play as a kid under the twilight rate at the Milwaukee County Parks golf courses. While technically the courses were 18-holers, you could get in only nine, due to either lack of sunlight, or an increase in bug bites. But all it cost you was 5 bucks. Safe to say, it wasn’t until I was older where I played golf in the morning.  

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The post ‘Blow it up to oblivion’: Tyrrell Hatton goes nuclear on Abu Dhabi hole design appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘Blow it up to oblivion’: Tyrrell Hatton goes nuclear on Abu Dhabi hole design appeared first on Golf.

It’s hard to know for certain, but Tyrrell Hatton might not love the 18th hole at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi.

And why do we say that? Oh, well only because he’s dedicated consecutive post-round sessions with gathered reporters at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship to the subject of the 646-yard par-5, and his critiques have been … not sterling.

“That must be one of the worst par-5s I’ve ever seen in my life,” Hatton said Saturday. “And over the last two days, I’ve clearly played it about as well as it was designed.”

As for the offending issue, Hatton had … a few thoughts.

“What’s wrong with it? Where do you start? It shouldn’t have a bunker in the middle of the fairway, and it shouldn’t be over 600 yards from a forward tee,” he said Saturday. “If you hit a good drive as a pro, you should have at least a chance to go for the green in two, otherwise the hole becomes a par-3, and that’s if you play it well. Hardly anyone will get there in two with the wind even slightly against you.”

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Now, it is noteworthy that these quotes came mere minutes after Hatton’s tournament hopes were dashed with a quadruple-bogey nine on the hole. And it is also noteworthy that particularly brutal winds affected play for the majority of the week. Still, Hatton’s disdain for the 18th was decidedly pointed.

“I honestly can’t remember the last time I got a nine,” he said. “I certainly haven’t had one that I can recall as a pro. I was probably about 14 the last time it happened.” 

Hatton’s criticisms also weren’t restricted to only Saturday. After a final-round 67 on Sunday left him with a respectable T6 in Abu Dhabi, Hatton once again took aim at the 18th.

“I definitely still think it is an awful hole. Today we were off the very back tees, and you wonder why when you want to encourage aggressive golf and make it exciting for the spectators,” he said. “I’m obviously not a fan. If we’re coming back here next year, it would be nice if they redesigned it.”

Should the membership at Yas Links consider Hatton’s rather pointed criticism, the 30-year-old pro also has a suggested recourse.

“I would love for a bomb to drop on it and blow it up to oblivion, to be honest,” he said.

After his week, Tyrrell Hatton suggested he might take a more reasoned approach to the hole, should the tournament return to Yas Links in future years.

“Perhaps I may not be back.”

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The post ‘It can be a waste of time’: Ryder Cupper has surprisingly relatable confession about his practice habits appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘It can be a waste of time’: Ryder Cupper has surprisingly relatable confession about his practice habits appeared first on Golf.

When Tyrrell Hatton’s par putt dropped in the cup on the 18th green at last year’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the Englishman was at the apex of his golf career. He’d just put the finishing touches on a four-stroke win — his fourth worldwide over the previous 14 months — which elevated him to a personal-best fifth in the Official World Golf Rankings. 2021 seemed primed to be a career year.

Golf, however, is a fickle game, and the next 12 months proved to be a struggle. Hatton didn’t reach the winner’s circle again for the remainder of the year, registered just two top 10s in full-field events and spent much of the once-promising season stuck in neutral.

This week Hatton, now ranked 22nd in the world, is back at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship to defend his title. One year removed from the pinnacle of his success, he’s faced a multitude of questions about where it all went wrong.

His answers, in typical Hatton fashion, have been frank — and surprisingly relatable.

“It’s more down to where I was at mentally to be honest,” he said. “In 2020, I was working pretty hard in the gym throughout the whole year … The back half of last year, I was doing no training. Wasn’t that motivated to practice either.”

It’s not often fans can relate to professional athletes, but lacking motivation to get in the gym? We’ve all been there.

Hatton said loathing practice is dates back to his childhood. When he was a kid, his father used to have to coax him into heading to the range — especially during the winter months.

Short Game

“[I was] sort of happy being inside or trying to play football all weekend at that stage,” Hatton said. “I’ve always really struggled with that kind of thing. I definitely don’t switch on to it, so I’m not really that focused whilst I’m there. It can be a little bit of a waste of time.”

Just like the everyman golfer, Hatton still has trouble making practice fun and engaging. He admitted he often just “goes through the motions” at the range (who hasn’t done that?), and is searching for a way to keep himself interested when he goes out to practice.

But with the calendar flipping to 2022, Hatton is rededicating himself to finding that previous form. Before embarking to the Middle East for his first start of the year, the 30-year-old flew to Orlando for a two-week bootcamp to get right for the year ahead. And while the results have been promising thus far, he’s still working to find the right formula.

“Training-wise has been good,” he said. “[I] still struggle with how to practice and what actually, when I get there is just going through the motions. But that’s a work-in-progress.”

In Abu Dhabi, the formula seemed to work — through 18 holes, at least. Hatton shot six under in his opening round and sat T4.

No word on whether he hit the range after his round.

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