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 Belgiumâs 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.
Up and down for victory đȘ@TyrrellHatton is the Alfred Dunhill Links Champion for a record third time! #dunhilllinks pic.twitter.com/RHNfnuvj4y
â DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 6, 2024
Hatton, who also finished second in the team event with his father Jeff, told Sky Sports: âIt feels good.
âItâs the first time Iâve 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. Iâm trying not to cry to be honest. Iâm a bit lost for words.â
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.
âTo be honest I actually didnât know what the scores were from when we left the halfway house,â Hatton added. âThereâs a nice TV in there but the first leaderboard I saw was on the 17th green.
âWhen I made double on 13 and then bogeyed 14 I didnât realise I was still around the lead. I just tried my best on every shot coming in and then I see where weâre actually at on the 17th green. Then Iâd by lying if I said I wasnât nervous.
âI actually stood over the ball on the 18th tee and was like âPlease donât hit it out of boundsâ, which is not a good though process. Luckily managed to hit a good shot and that chip shot there was great.
âI played that with a pitching wedge and itâs 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.â
Hattonâs victory secures his place in the DP World Tourâs season-ending event in Dubai and ensures he can also attend the upcoming wedding of Ryder Cup team-mate Matt Fitzpatrick.
âI was meant to be going to Fitzyâs wedding the week of Spain (Andalucia Masters) and I had to message him a few weeks ago to say if I donât earn enough points I might not be able to go and I felt so bad about that.
âI guess having a little bit of extra motivation to play well and be able to be there for their special day (was good).â
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.
âIâm pretty proud,â he said. âI 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 havenât really been in the last couple of years is quite good, of course.
âš The winning putt for Tyrrell Hatton at the #dunhilllinks pic.twitter.com/VMNFuIyRHm
â Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (@dunhilllinks) October 6, 2024
âWhen you finish like that itâs 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).
âPeople might look at the last but I could have maybe done a little bit better throughout the middle of the round.â
Denmarkâs Thorbjorn Olesen and Irish businessman Dermot Desmond won the team event on 48 under par, two shots ahead of Hatton and his father.
