A swearing outburst and snapped club. Tyrrell Hatton has sampled quieter Fridays than his one at Royal St George’s. It seems inevitable that a fine will be heading the Englishman’s way on the basis of two fits of pique.
Hatton was heard to utter obscenities after stepping from the 11th green, where he had run up a double bogey five. “I hit a good tee shot and literally could hardly get the club onto the back of the ball,” he later said of a dreadful lie on a slope behind the green. He branded the situation “absolute fucking bollocks” at the time, which was clearly audible on television coverage.
There was more. Hatton broke his gap wedge in half after hitting a poor approach to the 18th. “That was a load of frustration built up,” said the world No 10. “This is a tough one to take. I knew I needed to hit that shot in close. It’s massively disappointing. I just can’t bring my game at the Open.”
Indeed, a two over par total left Hatton on the verge of six missed cuts from nine appearances in the world’s oldest major. “This one is definitely tough to take because the support has been amazing,” he said. “I’m not one of the popular guys so I’m not used to having that kind of reception on the 1st tee. I’m disappointed I’m not going to be here this weekend.”
Meanwhile, the rising American star Will Zalatoris was forced to withdraw before the start of round two after being unable to recover from a back injury as sustained during Thursday’s play.
Zalatoris, who signed for a first round of 69, hurt himself playing from thick rough. “I am beyond disappointed,” said Zalatoris. “I have been advised to not risk any further damage to my back.”
He added: "“The second shot out of the heavy rough on 15 yesterday sent a tingling down my left leg and I have been advised not to risk any further damage to my back. “I contemplated not finishing the round yesterday, but considering this is my first Open, I felt like I needed to finish the round.”
