Tyrrell Hatton’s temper got the better of him during Saturday’s third round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, leading to a post-round meeting with tournament officials.
The incident in question? A damaged plastic tee marker at the par-3 seventh hole that Hatton admitted to striking twice with his club out of frustration. Despite the outburst, he managed to card a solid 4-under 68, leaving him just one shot behind leader Daniel Hillier heading into Sunday’s final round.
“Just a bit of frustration,” Hatton explained after being questioned in the scoring area. “Probably shouldn’t have done it. Does it make me a bad person? No. It’s just a spur of the moment thing and it happened. I can’t go back and change it, so move on.”
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The fiery Englishman, known for wearing his emotions on his sleeve, wasn’t trying to dodge responsibility. “I’m aware that it’s not the right thing to do but in the heat of the moment when you’re frustrated, you just do things that you probably wish you didn’t do,” he said. “If that’s the worst thing I do as a human, then, I mean, it’s not that bad.”
Ironically, Hatton actually played the seventh hole well, finding the green and two-putting from 48 feet for a routine par. He’s now positioned for a run at his second DP World Tour victory since joining LIV Golf last year.
While Hatton’s focused on claiming his first Dubai title tomorrow, his wallet might end up a bit lighter – tournament officials aren’t likely to let the tee marker incident slide without a fine.
