‘It’s just me’: Dubai leader Tyrrell Hatton on why he won’t change how he behaves

Take me or leave me! That was the message from Tyrrell Hatton as the Ryder Cup star’s on-course histrionics put him under the golfing spotlight once again this week.

Hatton leads the DP World Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai heading into the final round at Jumeirah Golf Estates as he bids to land a record-equalling sixth Rolex Series victory.

On a course that has been testing the patience of all 50 players due to it not being in its normal pristine condition, the Englishman has been pretty animated at times and came under a bit of criticism on social media for tapping a green with his putter following a missed putt.

Tyrrell Hatton tees off on the 16th hole on day three of the DP World Tour Championship on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai | Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Before heading out with Hatton as the pair shared the halfway lead, Rory McIlroy said that he hoped his playing partner would “get out of bed on the right side”, which was clearly a reference to how Hatton behaves at times.

“Yeah, I feel like we get on pretty well,” said Hatton in reply to being asked about that by The Scotsman after he outscored McIlroy by four shots in the third circuit to move into the sole outright lead in the $10 million season finale in the UAE.

“I would say we enjoy each other's company and obviously he'll be disappointed with how he's scored today. It wasn't easy, but you expect Rors to come out tomorrow and play a great round of golf and I'm sure he will.”

Hatton has spoken a lot over the years how he’s not going got to change just because some people don’t like how he behaves on a golf course, having taken his frustration out on a bunker at Carnoustie during this year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship as he slammed his club four times into the sand at the par-3 eighth hole.

“We'll be 13 years down the line,” he said of how long he’s been a professional, “and it's not got any better, has it? I think maybe you guys have just got a bit more used to me, so you don't give me as much stick now.

“That's how I've always played. I appreciate that at times it crosses the line and I'm fully aware of when I've done that. I'll hold my hands up. That's how I play golf. Whether you like it or not, I'm not going to change for that reason. It's just me.”

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