Tyrrell Hatton took his frustration out on the tee during his third round in Dubai.
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Tyrrell Hatton the famous temperament made itself felt again On Saturday during the third round Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
On the par-3 seventh hole, Hatton missed his tee shot 48 yards right of the pin. A wayward shot led the 33-year-old Englishman to take out his frustration on a nearby plastic tee marker. DP World Tour officials met with Hatton after his 4-under-par round at Emirates Golf Club and informed him that the Tour would fine him for the incident.
After the round, Hatton admitted he let his emotions get the best of him.
“Just a little frustration” – Hatton – he said via The Guardian. “He probably shouldn’t have done it. Does this make me a bad person? NO. It was just spur of the moment and it happened. I can’t go back and change it, so move on. I was told this in the score. I have no problem with what was said. I realize this isn’t the right thing to do, but in the heat of the moment, when you’re frustrated, you just end up doing things you probably don’t want to do. I won’t let this bother me for the rest of the day.
“If this is the worst thing I do as a human being, then it’s not that bad.”
Facts aside, Hatton had a successful Saturday at Emirates Golf Club. His 4-under-par 68 puts him just shy of lead Daniel Hillier.
As is usually the case with Hatton, the Englishman played great golf after losing his temper. He two-putted to save par on the seventh, but stumbled with back-to-back bogeys on the eighth and ninth. However, Hatton flipped the switch on the back nine, carding four birdies to put pressure on Hillier heading into the final round.
Hatton understands the need to limit his outbursts, but he doesn’t want to completely remove emotion from his game.
“I hope I can be a little more patient when I need to be and still keep that fire, because if I lose it, I’ll just be boring like everyone else,” Hatton said.
On Sunday, Hatton will have a chance to claim his eighth career victory on the DP World Tour. But even if he wins, his winner’s check will likely be slightly smaller because of the tee mark he mangled on Saturday.
