Buckinghamshire’s Tyrrell Hatton secured a long-awaited maiden win on the European Tour when firing a record-equalling 23 under par at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
The 24-year-old from Marlow closed with a six-under par 66 around the Old Course at St Andrews to seal the title, which offered a winner’s prize of €711,000.
Hatton, who is a member at Harleyford Golf Club, produced a stunning third round 62 to equal the course record at St Andrews, setting up with a healthy three shot lead, before posting an impressive final round 66 at the Old Course to finish on 23 under par.
Surrey’s Ross Fisher and South Africa’s Richard Sterne finished in a tie for second on 19 under.
Hatton got off to a strong start in the final round, rolling in his birdie putt from six feet at the third, before draining a 25-foot putt at the next to pick up another shot. He dropped one shot for the day at the 17th, after finding the Road Hole bunker with his approach, but was able to steady the ship and coolly sink his par putt at the last to seal his first win since joining the European Tour in 2014.
“I’ve wanted this moment since I was a six-year-old walking around Wentworth,” said Hatton, who moved up to fourth in the Race to Dubai rankings following the win. “I was quite nervous for the majority of the last round, but I played really solidly and holed some good putts, and that kept the momentum going. That was key to winning this week. To achieve my first win do it at the Home of Golf makes it even more special, and hopefully I can have a good end to the year now.”
He added: “One of my goals this season was to get inside the top 50 in the world, so to achieve that is a huge result, as it will get me into all the majors and WGC events next season if I can stay there.”
For Fisher, who also finished second at the previous week’s Porsche European Open, it was a case of what might have been, but he was delighted to have turned around his year with strong finishes at big events. After being 38 under par for his last 144 holes, Fisher has picked up over €600,000 in two events, and is now 17th in the Race to Dubai
Fisher said: “Starting the day three behind, it was always going to be tough to reel Tyrell in. I needed to put pressure on him early, but unfortunately my game was just not quite as good as the first three days. Obviously it’s a pleasure to witness a good friend’s first victory, and what a place to do it. It’s been two really good fortnight, so there are lots of positives to focus on.”