Tyrrell Hatton adds to Rory McIloy's tale of near misses in Abu Dhabi

Tyrrell Hatton timed it to perfection once again in a Rolex Series event as Rory McIloy suffered more disappointment in his bid to land the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship for a first time.
Tyrrell Hatton fist bumps Scottish caddie Mick Donaghy following his victory in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.Tyrrell Hatton fist bumps Scottish caddie Mick Donaghy following his victory in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.
Tyrrell Hatton fist bumps Scottish caddie Mick Donaghy following his victory in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

Underlining the form that had seen him break into the world’s top 10 last year, Hatton produced a masterclass in a final-round head-to-head with overnight leader McIlroy to claim an impressive four-shot victory.

The 29-year-old closed with a bogey-free six-under 66 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to finish with an 18-under-par 270 total as he landed a fourth Rolex Series title, joining Jon Rahm on that mark with the most successes in the European Tour’s showpiece events.

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“It’s surreal, to be honest,” Hatton told Sky Sports Golf afterwards. “It’s amazing. I always love starting the season here and to now have my name on the trophy with so many great champions before me is a huge honour.”

On starting the new season with a win, he said: “It’s massive. The Ryder Cup race has started again and that’s a huge goal to make that team, so I am delighted to pick up a load of points this week.”

Australian Jason Scrivener stormed home in 29 to finish second on 14-under, with McIlroy, a perennial bridesmaid in this tournament, having to settle for third spot on 13-under after a closing level-par 72.

Marc Warren holed a monster putt, which was worth around $100,000, at the last for a 71 and a tie for fifth spot.

McIlroy, who set out with a one-shot lead, started his day with a booming 362-yard drive at the first and, though unable to turn that into a birdie, he quickly hit his stride.

A two-putt birdie at the par-5 second was matched by playing partner Hatton before the Northern Irishman rolled in a 25-footer at the third to extend his lead as he moved to 15-under.

There was no hiding McIlroy’s frustration, though, when he then three-putted the short fourth for a sloppy bogey, having dropped his first shot of the event at the same hole in the second round on Friday.

A good chance to make amends was spurned at the fifth, where Tommy Fleetwood in the match ahead produced one of the most unlikely birdies of the week.

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The Englishman, who had already picked up a shot at the second in the company of Warren, badly pushed his drive into the waste area but did well to get the next one close to the green before rolling in a 15-foot putt.

It would have been disappointing for Fleetwood when he then three-putted the par-3 seventh, where Hatton was a lot braver than he intended with his tee shot minutes later but the subsequent birdie from 10 feet moved him into a tie for the lead with McIlroy.

A sloppy bogey-6 from McIlroy at the eighth then saw Hatton hit the front on his own and his lead was quickly doubled as a 27-footer was converted for a birdie on the ninth, moving him to 15-under.

That became 16-under when the leader rolled in an even longer birdie putt to start his back nine, with McIlroy, who only needed a 7-iron for his second at the 582-yarder, matching that 4.

A bogey for McIlroy at the 11th left Hatton three in front and, after setting up his fifth birdie of the day with a lovely approach from the rough at the 13th, it had suddenly turned into a back-nine procession.

Fleetwood, a two-time winner, faltered at the finish, dropping three shots in two holes late on, as Hatton rounded off a brilliant effort by rolling in an 18-footer at the 16th for his sixth birdie of the day.

Hatton played on a winning team on his debut in the biennial event in Paris in 2018 and admitted: “That was the best golfing experience of my life to date. Home fans, that first tee with the grandstand was just amazing. I absolutely loved the week.

“I'm sure it will be a very different experience playing away, if I make that team, and hopefully I'm there at Whistling Straits. So I'd love to try and help the team win. There's a lot of golf to play between now and again, but fingers crossed that I'm there.”

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Hatton, who could climb as high as fifth in the updated world rankings on Monday, is also hoping to start making his presence felt in majors this year.

“Everyone in their career, their goal is to win a major and I'm no different,” said the two-time Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner. “Obviously the majors last year for me were disappointing to miss the cut in all three.

“But golf's a funny game. You're trying your best every single week, and some weeks, it sort of works out better than others. So hoping that 2021, the majors fall in good weeks for me, and I can put in some good performances there.”

McIlroy, who has now recorded six top-three finishes in 11 appearances in this event, had been in imperious form as he opened with a 64 before going off the boil on Friday.

After getting his nose back in front heading into the final circuit, the 31-year-old had been hoping to land a first victory since the HSBC Champions in November 2019, but it wasn’t to be.

“I don't feel like I played great this week,” said McIlroy, who now returns to PGA Tour action in next week’s Farmers Insurance Open Torrey Pines. “I felt like I was managing my game a bit.

““It was nice to get a competitive week under my belt and see where my game is and what I need to do to keep on improving.”

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