“That” European Tour has delivered once again. A week after Paul Azinger caused an international incident with snippy comments about the ability or otherwise of Europe’s best players to prevail in the United States, Tyrrell Hatton offered the perfect response. On yet another gruelling afternoon at Bay Hill, Hatton claimed the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the biggest cheque – just short of $1.7m (£1.3m) – of his career. This marked the fifth win in succession of this tournament by a non-American; three of whom are European. A penny for Azinger’s thoughts.
Nobody can claim Hatton did this the easy way. The Englishman triumphed by a shot, at four under par, after what developed into a battle with Marc Leishman. “Tyrrell never gave up,” said Leishman. “He did what he needed to do there.”
Hatton had wobbled with a double bogey at the 11th, where shades of his old, petulant nature were visible. He found water off the tee and duffed a chip which did not make it to the green but steadied himself sufficiently to reel off seven pars from there. Hatton was bold when it counted; his tee shot into the tricky par-three 17th was wonderfully nerveless. Leishman, 73 against Hatton’s 74, could not do enough.
“It’s an incredible feeling to win at such an iconic venue,” said Hatton, who was playing in only his second tournament since wrist surgery. “I grew up watching this event on TV; to be sitting here with the trophy is amazing.” Hatton duly described his caddie, Scotsman Michael Donaghy, as a “national treasure”.
Sungjae Im, who was a constant threat to Hatton, finished third at two under. Bryson DeChambeau, at minus one, completed the quartet that broke par. Keith Mitchell, Joel Dahmen and Danny Lee earned Open Championship spots courtesy of top-10 finishes.
As Rory McIlroy birdied the 4th, thereby tying the lead, he appeared set for a meaningful tilt at the trophy he won in 2018. Instead, and strangely, he hit reverse gear from there. He bogeyed the 5th, hardly a disaster, but took seven at the par-five 6th. An opening nine of 40 – McIlroy whacked his tee shot out of bounds at the 9th – meant he required snookers to win. McIlroy remains a model of consistency and will shortly reach 100 weeks combined as the world No1 but falling short, naturally, will sting. His 76 left him four short of Hatton in a share of fifth.
“I’m doing what I expect myself to do every week, which is giving myself a chance,” he said. “I give myself a chance most weeks and more weeks than not it’s not going to happen. That’s just the way golf is. I think my win percentage on tour is like 10% and that’s pretty high for anyone not being Tiger Woods.
“I’ve had chances and I wish I had converted one of them over the last few weeks but I’m still in good form. I’m playing some good golf. And hopefully, if I just keep putting myself in those positions, it’s only a matter of time.”
Matt Fitzpatrick, playing early, had an outside chance of taking the title when five under par for his round and one under in total by the 17th tee. A very costly double bogey followed for the Yorkshireman.
His 69 meant a share of ninth and he can be counted among those who approve of the Bay Hill set-up.
“I would so much rather play it like this every week, where it’s a battle and you’ve got to go work hard and grind instead of wide open fairways,” he said.
Brooks Koepka’s sentiment was more profound. The four-times major winner, short of form in 2020, signed off with a 71, 10 strokes fewer than on Saturday. So how would Koepka describe his golf? “Still shit,” he replied.
