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TYRRELL HATTON WINS ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP
Colsaerts goes first and watches his birdie attempt dribble agonizingly wide of the hole on the left side. A brutal end for the Belgian, who has been excellent all week.
But it’s Tyrrell Hatton who is a three-time winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after draining his birdie putt from inside four feet!
Up and down for victory đź’Ş@TyrrellHatton is the Alfred Dunhill Links Champion for a record third time! #dunhilllinks pic.twitter.com/RHNfnuvj4yOctober 6, 2024
STRAIGHT MATCH PLAY
Hatton chooses a bump-and-run chip through the Valley of Sin, which was certainly risky, but he’s done brilliantly to leave it four feet out at most.
Colsaerts opts to putt up the steep slope in front, but he’s under-hit it. The 41-year-old will need to make the birdie of his week to send this to a playoff, you feel…
PAIR OF PERFECT DRIVES
Both send monster drives down 18, but it is slight advantage Colsaerts as the former Ryder Cup vice-captain is closer to the Valley of Sin. He can certainly putt with plenty of feel, whereas Hatton will need to rock the shoulders a bit further. Mind you, there’s maybe 5-10 yards in it, so it’s really not a lot.
DOWN 18 ALL SQUARE
Wedge play isn’t Colsaerts’ strength, but he’s played a delightful skip-and-stop shot to eight feet. Hatton tries to respond but can’t make his birdie putt drop.
Colsaerts certainly has the tougher par save, but the big Belgian stands tall to roll a right-to-left putt home. That was clutch.
We go down 18 all square!
ADVANTAGE HATTON
With 222 yards remaining, Hatton booms a wood high into the air and it settles down just off the left edge of the green. He’ll have a chance for birdie after that excellent strike.
His playing partner, Colsaerts – with 219 remaining – sends a long iron short and right of the green, where he’ll try to get up and down. That’s either a monster putt or a delicate little wedge shot for Colsaerts…
FLAT FINISH FOR FLEETWOOD
Fleetwood is painfully short with his short chip towards the flag on 18, but it rolls back down into the hollow and that’s his chances over. He putts up the hill and tidies up for par, likely seeing him end in solo third. Overall, it’s still a really good week for Fleetwood.
LEADERS EVENTUALLY AWAY
Hatton and Colsaerts are finally away on 17. The Belgian went first and bailed out left, but he’s absolutely fine in the rough and can still reach the green. Meanwhile, Hatton plays with fire but finds the fairway just in front of the hotel. He’s got a beautiful angle into the green (just don’t pull or push it too badly!)
NERVOUS WAIT ON 17
The final pair are waiting on 17 for a little while longer than they’d ideally like. As they do so, Hatton swishes his driver back and forth while Colsaerts heartily puffs on a vape. He looks like a human train, with the wind blowing white smoke back past him. Quite the sight!
FLEETWOOD MAGIC
Goodness me, Tommy Fleetwood! The Englishman was front left of the 17th green with the flag in its usual Sunday location (back portion in the centre) and a hump to navigate. He opted for a cute little chip with some spin, and the ball stopped agonizingly short of dropping. Par achieved. Onto 18.
WASTED CHANCES
Hatton rolls a nice putt towards the hole from the back of the 16th green, but it just tails off two-thirds of the way down and he’ll have to make do with a par.
Not that long ago, Colsaerts was three back of Tyrrell Hatton. His approach shot into the 16th means he now has a strong chance to take the lead. The 41-year-old sent a beautiful shot over the front hump and his ball is now some 10 to 12 feet below the hole.
The eventual effort wasn’t brilliant from Colsaerts. He walks off with a par as well.
CO-LEADER COLSAERTS
Moments after Hatton watches his birdie putt slam the breaks on a matter of inches out on 15, Colsaerts drives a putt home to tie him on 23-under with three holes to play. Not that long ago, the lead was three…
All tied at the top 🙌@NicoColsaerts birdies the 15th to join Hatton at -23. #dunhilllinks pic.twitter.com/vtAU3GeDisOctober 6, 2024
FLEETWOOD’S CHALLENGE FADING
Fleetwood fails to birdie 16 and must go par-birdie, you would have thought, to challenge Hatton. He’s at five-under today and has looked really good, but a couple of pushed putts are costing him.
DESMOND DOES ENOUGH
In the team event, Dermot Desmond has made an unbelievable two-putt from off the green at the 17th to extend his and Thorbjorn Olesen’s lead to three shots. In theory, that should be a done deal now with the straightforward 18th to go…
CONSECUTIVE BOGEYS
It’s another bogey for Hatton on the 14th. In truth, that wasn’t the worst bogey given he had gone cross country to get there. But he’s now gone 6-6 on 13 and 14. His playing partner Colsaerts pours it in for par, and now the lead is only one! I told you this wasn’t over!
FRUSTRATION ALL AROUND
Hatton reaches the green with his fourth shot, but he is still frustrated. Over on the 15th green, Fleetwood (in a tie for third) watches a mid-range birdie chance just drift by. Fleetwood, normally an extremely placid character, also shows some emotion by waving his putter in a pushing motion – indicating he felt the stroke wasn’t as pure as it could have been. He remains in with an outside chance, though, especially if Hatton implodes here…
LEADER IS TICKING
On the par-5 14th, Hatton has once again found a fairway bunker and is required to flick out ahead of his third. He won’t be able to reach with this approach, given it’s into the wind, so he’s looking at saving par. Opting for driver off the deck, he shoves it left again and is getting visibly emotional.
Colsaerts drags his second shot and has 221 yards in for his third. He takes a 3-iron but comes up just short and right. Not the worst place to be, given the circumstances. It’s worth reiterating that the back nine is straight back into the wind, so it’s playing brutally tough.
HATTON DOUBLE BOGEY
If you looked at Hatton after every shot, you’d think he’s constantly hitting it horribly. It’s no different with the fourth from that tricky situation I just described, but a quick glance at the ball’s final position shows it has stopped just a few feet out. Excellent from Hatton.
But oh dear! Hatton has pushed his bogey putt wide and he’s walking off with a double-bogey on his card.
Colsaerts isn’t able to find a long-range par, but the gap has reduced to two nonetheless. Will we have that drama after all?
HATTON OPENS THE DOOR
The LIV golfer might have opened the door to his rivals here. Hatton’s drive finds a coffin bunker and he’s forced to just chop out. His third shot somehow escapes a greenside bunker, but the ball has come to rest on a slight downslope on the short side with that bunker staring him in the face. This will be tough.
In response, Colsaerts has a long-range par chance from the middle of the green. The difference is currently three, but it might be about to drop to one…
POWERS OF RECOVERY
The powers of recovery from the leading pair are sublime. Hatton finds the putting surface from a pretty rough lie in the… rough, and it’s not that far away either. Meanwhile, Colsaerts only has 99 yards to go and makes the most of it by flicking a wedge into three or four feet. That was class from the Belgian.
As Hatton comes up short with his long-range birdie putt, ultimately tapping in for par, Colsaerts has the chance to cut the lead down to two. But he can’t take it! Hatton remains three ahead with six holes to play.
TOUGH CONDITIONS
The 12th hole is only 348 yards – I say ‘only’ in the context that they’re pros – but it is playing into the wind. As a result, the drives of the two leaders did not find the fairway on No.12. Colsaerts’ tee shot was the better of the two at 249 yards, though, as the Belgian’s ball only just missed the shortest cut. Hatton’s is well away from the centre…
SEVEN HOLES TO PLAY
Hatton’s closest challenger Colsaerts slightly pulls a birdie putt from 10 feet on the 11th green, and that’s given the leader a very good chance to extend his lead out to three. In the team event, Tyrrell’s father Jeff goes first from a similar range but fails to see it drop. His son, however, drains it right in the middle. He’s recorded consecutive birdies and is out to 26-under.
Meanwhile, the weather in Scotland has turned pretty ugly. It’s raining steadily and the wind is blowing at about 20mph. This might not be over…