Tyrrell Hatton had a shocking warmup before Sunday’s final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
Well, that’s the word he used to describe it.
Please explain, Mr. Hatton.
“With the second driver I hit, I think I missed the ninth fairway left from the driving range,” he said. “I didn’t shout fore out of pure embarrassment. No one on a driving range should ever have to shout fore.
“That kind of shows you how bad it was.”
The ninth hole runs parallel to the driving range, which is about 150 yards wide. If the flew his shot over the ninth fairway, that was one huge hook.
So, yes, it was a shocking shot.
The 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational winner and star of the DP World Tour’s Angry Golfers spot, however, recovered.
“Luckily enough, I don’t know what I found, but just started hitting the ball good again,” Hatton said of his final round. “I played really good, and I’m very happy with that. Luckily, we didn’t have too many wides out there on the golf course.
“Maybe I was a bit more focused out there.”
On a day when the field averaged north of 75, and a day after he was clobbered by Bay Hill en route to a third-round 78, Hatton shot 3-under-par 69 to finish at 4 under and in second place, one shot behind Scottie Scheffler.
It was one of only two scores in the 60s – Lucas Hebert shot 68.
“Very fortunate to win this tournament two years ago when it was again really, really tough. But I just went out there and tried my best,” Hatton said. “I had to hole over 120 feet pf putts today, which is surprising to hear. I know I putted well, but you’re putting so defensively, you’re trying to just cozy up to the hole.
“We know the weekends are pretty brutal here. I think the greens get so quick sometimes, pin positions just seem brutal. And it’s just, like I said, you have to play defensively and try your best to get the ball as close as you can. When you’re putting, if you do miss, you don’t want it too far away on the next one.
“So I guess I feel like I’ve done a good job of that.”
