Every thing went proper for Tyrrell Hatton on Saturday on the Alfred Dunhill Hyperlinks Championship.
Hatton posted an 11-under 61, a spherical that featured 9 birdies and an eagle on the Outdated Course at St. Andrews. That spectacular rating matches the course document, which fellow Englishman Ross Fisher set in 2017. Hatton’s 61 additionally marks the bottom spherical of his profession.
“I used to be simply taking every gap because it got here and attempting to make as many birdies as I may,” Hatton mentioned.
“I knew after I holed that putt on 17—I had really shot 10-under right here earlier than. I can’t bear in mind if it was 2016, the yr that I gained. However yeah, I actually wished to birdie the final [and I did]. That’s really my lowest spherical on tour, as effectively. It felt like I used to be attempting more durable than I usually would for a putt on the final. Good putt, and fortunately, it went in. It was a cool day.”
Hatton completed with back-to-back birdies on St. Andrews closing holes, arguably the 2 biggest finishers on the earth. Hatton caught his strategy to three.5 ft on the par-4 seventeenth, The Highway Gap, which some describe as some of the difficult holes in golf.
“We had a reasonably good quantity, 171 off a slight upslope. The ball this week has been slightly bit spiny off the turf, and I used to be simply hitting a grip-down 7-iron, which is equal to a three-quarter, and it simply got here out good,” Hatton mentioned of his strategy into 17.
“Landed slightly bit shorter than I believed it might. I believed it might carry a bit additional. It bounced when it landed and rolled as much as two or three ft, which you’ll take any day on that gap.”
Sitting at 22-under via 54 holes, Hatton now owns a one-shot lead over Belgian Nicolas Colsearts, who was vice-captain finally yr’s Ryder Cup. However Hatton had no issues about the place he stood on the leaderboard. He solely nervous about himself and what number of birdies he may seize—a sound technique on the third day of a DP World Tour occasion.
“The primary leaderboard I noticed was on the seventeenth inexperienced, and yeah, I clearly wasn’t actually too nervous about what anybody else was doing,” Hatton mentioned.
“As I mentioned, I took every gap because it got here and tried to make a birdie on that gap. Ended up with a pleasant tally.”
That he did, which led Hatton to etch his identify additional into St. Andrews lore.
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By means of. Make sure to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You may comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.