Tyrrell Hatton became the first Englishman to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a stunning one-shot victory at Bay Hill in Florida.
The 28-year-old from Buckinghamshire, who was also winning his first PGA Tour title, held a two-stroke lead going into the final round, but that advantage disappeared in the first five holes after two bogeys on lightning-fast greens.
He repaired the damage with back-to-back birdies on 7 and 8, to go out in level par, but a double bogey on 11, after finding water off the tee, saw his chances of a win look in doubt once more as he slipped back into a tie with Sungjae Im, who won last week’s Honda Classic.
But with the wind swirling around Bay Hill, scoring was difficult for the chasing back too, with Rory McIlroy, who started the final day just two behind, struggling to a closing 76, which left Australia’s Marc Leishman, who won this event in 2017, to apply the most pressure on Hatton.
However the Englishman knuckled down on the closing stretch, grinding out seven consecutive pars from the 12thto finish with a two-over par 74, and a four-under-par total to take the title by the minimum margin from Leishman and collect the €1.5m first prize.
“It was such a tough day,” said Hatton, who only returned to action at the WGC in Mexico two weeks ago, after time spent recovering from a wrist operation before Christmas. “After the double on 11 I thought I’d played my way out of it, but when I got to the 13th I found I still had a two-shot lead, so I was thankful that I was able to par my way in. It’s incredible to get my first win at such an iconic venue, and it’s amazing to win so soon after coming back from wrist surgery. That putt at 18 – I have never been so nervous. I won’t ever forget this week.”
In a tough week for scoring, there were 44 players under par after Thursday’s first round, but only four by the end of the tournament. Saturday’s scoring average of 75.91 was the highest of any round at Bay Hill since 1983 – with only one player under par – and it was the first non-major not to have a round in the 60’s since 2014.
Matthew Fitzpatrick produced the only sub-70 round of the weekend – with four birdies in the first six holes – and despite a double bogey at the 17th he returned a 69 to finish with a one over total and a share of ninth.