Weekend Wrap: Hatton Wins The Dunhill

Englishman holds off Colsaerts a day after tying the Old Course record. Elsewhere, Ding wins AAC but may pass up major exemptions, Old Tom statue is dedicated, and other weekend performances.

Tyrrell Hatton whined and cussed his way around the Home of Golf to become the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship’s first three-time winner. He even smiled after his seventh DP World Tour win!

The Ryder Cupper and LIV defector tied the Old Course record of 61 in Saturday’s third round. Hatton eagled the fifth and made nine birdies, with six of those on the incoming nine.

The calm conditions disappeared Sunday to help set up a lively stretch duel against veteran Nicolas Coelsaerts. The duo came to the par 3* 18th tied at 23-under-par where Hatton, playing first, wedged to a pin cut just a few feet over the Valley of Sin. Coelsarts, playing on a sponsor’s invitation, played next and chose to putt but left a longer birdie putt that the veteran could not convert.

The 32-year-old Hatton first won the Dunhill in 2016, defended in 2017, and added a third St Andrews win to a resume that now includes a course-record-tying round (co-held with Ross Fisher).

Hatton’s 61 was the second posted in the event. South African Darren Fichardt posted a record round at Kingsbarns, even with a 17th hole bogey.

Hatton treasured playing alongside his dad Jeff as part of the Dunhill’s pro-am.

“We are pretty fortunate,” Hatton said. “This is the third time we've been able to play this tournament together, and I think finally this year, my dad sort of settled down and he actually played some good golf. He played unreal yesterday, which was nice to see.”

The win is expected to move Hatton to 20th in the world, according to Nosferatu. That’s particularly impressive since Hatton is no longer receiving ranking points in LIV events. The three-time Ryder Cup participant is also looking to maintain his DP World Tour membership status for next year’s matches.

Hatton’s performance spoiled what would have been one of the most popular wins of 2024 had Colsaerts prevailed. An early tournament albatross vaulted the 41-year-old into the lead. But without a top ten since 2023’s Dunhill Links and a world ranking of 695, Colsaerts’ ability to hang around seemed in doubt.

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The Belgian has recently turned to broadcasting and relied on exemptions in a bid to reclaim his card. Sunday’s second-place finish took care of that.

“When you finish like that it’s a bit bittersweet,” Colsaerts said of driving to the Valley of Sin but failing to get up and down to force a playoff. “But if you look at what happened during the course, the way it all panned out, it was probably 8, 9, 10, 11. People might look at the last but I could have maybe done a little bit better throughout the middle of the round.”

That’s also when the weather hit peak misery. Yet Colsaerts maintained his focus despite painfully slow play and Hatton’s usual antics, including taking out the 12th tee’s left marker after slicing one onto the Eden Course (where the angle is quite good in Sunday’s wind).

“When you have not been in a position like this for a while, you kind of forget how much it grabs you,” said Colsaerts, who played alongside amateur Ari Emanuel. “I have to give credit for the Tour and all the promoters that I've known over the years for giving me 15 opportunities or 16 opportunities this year to actually try to get a job back. I feel part of the furniture. This has been my life for over 20 years now.”

The Vice Captain from Luke Donald’s winning team will now have a 2025 DP World Tour card.

“It looks like we're going to go back on the merry-go-round.”

Also of note:

• England’s Tommy Fleetwood posted a five-under 67 to finish third at 21-under, while Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Spaniard David Puig and South African Robin Williams shared fourth on 19-under.

• Hatton and his dad Jeff finished second in the Team Event, two shots behind Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen and Irish businessman Dermot Desmond, who posted a real ham-and-egger of 48-under par after a final round 59 despite the rough weather, Desmond’s 6 handicap and Olesen’s T12 at 16-under-par.

• In the match-up of Tour leaders, Jay Monahan teamed with Billy Horschel to finish 60th (-23) to Yasir Al-Rumayyan and Dean Burmester’s

  70th (-22).

• After a pitch shot, Gareth Bale had his ball picked up by a spectator’s dog who had patiently waited before fetching the coveted sphere:

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Extended final round highlights:

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Bobby Mac Calls For Blowing Up The Road Hole

Readers may recall The Quad’s list of best lines about the Old Course. They included some clever gripes along with the many poetic utterances.

Scotland’s great hope Bobby Mac’s Sunday rant proved to be neither clever nor poetic. In the quotes captured by The Scotsman’s Martin Dempster, Robert MacIntyre prefaced his hatred for Scotland’s most famous hole by suggesting the disdain is rooted in the addition of a tournament tee placed in 2009 at the R&A’s urging. You know, in response to sportsmen like Oban’s finest hitting the ball prodigious distances.