Tyrrell Hatton all set for a rust removal operation at Congaree after wedding chaos
- Matt Cooper
- 10 June 2021
The Englishman tees it up this week in the Palmetto Championship knowing there is plenty to tweak ahead of next week’s US Open.
Your wedding day is supposed to be the best day of your life.
But there is also high potential for all sorts of pandemonium, as Tyrrell and Emily Hatton found when tying the knot at the end of last month.
Ahead of the first round of this week's Palmetto Championship at Congaree GC the Englishman explained that not everything went to plan, even though the event had very little to go wrong in the first place.
"It was a little bit different than how we initially planned it with COVID and everything," he said. "So it was just me and Emily."
How wrong can that go?
"Our driver turned up an hour late, so that meant we arrived half an hour late for our ceremony. And then we'd planned to hike up the Blue Ridge Parkway for some nice pictures.
"Unfortunately, after finishing the ceremony, it absolutely pissed down with rain so we drove two miles down the road, pulled over in a lay-by, and we had our wedding pictures on the side of the road!
"So, yeah, not quite as magical as you'd plan it, I guess, but it was still pretty special."
And how did the man famously characterised as golf's angriest man cope with the chaos?
"I think the most frustrated I got was when we were actually in the car because, despite pitching up an hour late, he was driving under the speed limit, and we had lorries that were overtaking us.
"I politely asked him to use the right pedal and press a little harder to try and make up a little bit of time!"
Has marriage changed Hatton?
"It might have changed my waistline," he admitted. "I certainly drank my body weight in beer. I need to get back in the gym and sort myself out."
Mr & Mrs H 💜 pic.twitter.com/PcofLGbWEv
— Tyrrell Hatton (@TyrrellHatton) May 28, 2021
He also needs to tweak his game ahead of next week's US Open at Torrey Pines.
He started 2021 in superb style, winning the Abu Dhabi Championship in January and also managed a career-best finish at the Masters (T18th), but since then he's made two cuts without threatening to get into contention and had a brush with COVID, as well as the wedding drama.
In theory, Congaree GC should suit the linksland specialist, with its fast-running fairways and greens.
The bookmakers are wary of him and he goes off the 12/1 third favourite with Bet365 (he's 50/1 with the same firm for the US Open), but have a read of his words about his form.
There's a lot of talk of rust.
On the course
"Visually, I think it's great. I know that they'd like the course to be a little bit firmer than it is. Unfortunately, you can't control the weather, and I think they've had quite a bit of rain the last week or so.
"It's pretty soft. If it was firmer, then certain sort of shots would be required more. You wouldn't necessarily be hitting driver quite as often.
"But it's a good setup, and we're all going to have a good week here."
On the state of his game
"I started practising again last Wednesday, so I've had a few days to kind of try to get back into it. Naturally, I think I'll be quite rusty.
"I would say the last month and a half has been a little bit awkward for me really. I started to feel like I was playing really well again at the Zurich Classic. Then getting the positive COVID test was a surprise and I felt like I was going to have a really good week there at Innisbrook.
Amazing scenes 🤣🤣@TyrrellHatton's fiancée slams a toilet door in his backswing!#ItalianOpen #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/8vi8szTt3e
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 11, 2019
"All of a sudden, it's two weeks off, and my next event's the PGA. Again, rusty at the start, and as the week went on, it felt like it got a bit better, and I've now just had two weeks off again.
"Just hoping that I can hit some good shots to find some momentum out there."
On staying focused if he plays the weekend but isn't in-contention
"You're still out there trying your best. You always want to finish as high as you possibly can even when you make the cut, struggling, maybe don't really have a chance to win, I think if you can find something.
"You want momentum to take through to your next event. Or even just a certain feeling in your swing. There's always something to play for.
"There's always FEDEX points, world ranking points. It's amazing how a one-shot difference over the course of the year can have a huge impact. So you always have to just keep going and try your best."
On next week's US Open
"I always wanted to play the week before. I wanted to make sure that I had some competitiveness in me before getting there. Obviously, I've never been to Torrey Pines, and I'm excited to play there."
