Is it just an unfortunate coincidence that having the same surname as a Boxer means he has a face that you just wouldn't tire of punching!? In the last three weeks Hatton has finished 8th, 1st & 1st! Shooting 57 Under Par which equates to 795 strokes in 12 Rounds (that's an average of 66.25 for 18 holes) and judging by his demeanour he's been happy with about only 3 of those shots! Probably the last putt of each Tournament!? "I'm a Talented Multi-Millionaire...Get Me Outta Here!" He's a Golfer in a rich vein of form, his ability is undeniable and his potential to be a major force is there for all to see...unfortunately he's as crabbit as Monty at a Divorce Hearing, the man who trademarked 'The Golfers Growl' – Cheer up Tyrrell, you`re getting paid handsomely to play golf in idyllic conditions in some of the most beautiful places on earth while we sit at home in 3 pairs of Pyjamas so we can keep the heating ‘aff until at least November with sandbags at the door to fend off Hurricane Urethra and the impending dread of returning to work! And just like the Scotland`s great 'Huff Daddy', Hatton`s Toddler-like Tantrums could be the main difference between him being a top player in both the European Tour or World events, and elevating himself to one of the games Major Greats. I bet you`ve all golfed or golf with someone who is a nightmare to play with!? I`ve been watching and following golf from 1988 (Seve`s Open victory at Lytham), and since it became my passion I enjoyed watching footage of the great players and Championships from way before that too thanks to my dad`s extensive VHS & Betamax Recordings of all the Open`s & Ryder Cups. All the way back to the early 70`s stuff with Nicklaus in his prime. And the one thing that struck me about all the games TRUE Greats through the decades, the ones who made their way to the top and stayed there a long time, the multiple Major Winners, the household names, was they all had an ingredient that you couldn`t practice and it was certainly very difficult, nigh impossible to learn...CLASS. I still to this day think Tom Watson was the epitome of golfing class. When things weren`t going his way or he hit a bad shot, he always just broke out that grin, tipped his hat to the crowd and got on with it. I think that had a lot to do with why the Scots loved him, as a Nation we don`t have a lot of time for whingers! In many ways Mickelson is in the same mould as Watson. Langer had that about him as did Ernie Els and Greg Norman, as does Westwood, Harrington, Rose and Kaymer. Kuch, DJ, Stricker & Furyk...Casey, Jimenez, Adam Scott. All these guys have had Hall of Fame worthy careers yet did it with a fantastic demeanour that fully respected the idiosyncrasy’s the game throws at you as well as a humility and acknowledgement to the fans regardless of how their round was going. If Tyrrell goes on to have half the career of any that I`ve mentioned above then he should be quite content, but to surpass any of that success then he needs to ‘...chill Winstan!!!’ Sure, Faldo was a little arrogant in his pomp, Tiger was prone to the odd flash of petulance and Seve was not averse to testing the Rules Officials resolve! Jordan Spieth gives us the most entertaining running commentary, but typically it is him recognising his flaws that have caused the erractic shots…of which there are generally many on his way to victory. But they, and all the other greats realised very early on that Tournament Golf was never going to be 72 perfectly played holes. Listen to any Player interview after a good round or a Tournament win, especially the Majors, where they are asked “What was the key to that performance” and you`ll hear a common theme – PATIENCE! Stenson in his early years was a real hot head, but only since the `Iceman` has learned to keep his cool more has he elevated his game to a World class, Major Winning standard. Jon Rahm I feel will have to do the same thing if he is to truly fulfil his undoubted talent. These guys need to realise we play an imperfect game in imperfect conditions. You`ll always have rub of the green and your own inconsistencies to wrestle with! But here`s the thing Tyrrell – If you play in one of the final groups on a Sunday you`re going to find that at least 50 players and Caddies will have walked around the hole before you`ve putted so Spike Marks are inevitable! The thousands of people walking round amongst trees, bushes, grass or any other nature that might make noise are here to see you! Statistically the Best Driver in the World DOESN’T hit every Fairway, the Best Iron Player DOESN’T hit every Green, The Best Putter DOESN’T Hole every Putt. And typically the guy who gets his hands on the big Trophy and even bigger Cheque is the Player who has just made the least mistakes or hit the fewest destructive shots, or showed the best mental strength in adversity!! But do you know what, the thousands of people who pay to watch you up close and personal, and the millions more who tune in to get their Golfing-Elite Fix really don`t want to watch Players moan about hitting shots that they could only dream of, compounded by Players moaning about Putting surfaces these spectators would give their left arm to be able to putt on! For me what makes it worse is when you have the likes of Mark Roe trying to justify it whilst at the same time mocking the audiences intelligence by saying that Tyrrell Hatton ‘is being extremely clever in the way he is channelling his temper and using it as a motivation to play great golf!’ Exqueese Me!? I think Mr Roe is going as mad as his, ahem, new look (aka lazy) Mad Professor hairstyle! The Facts are that from the moment he came to prominence in the 2014 Scottish Open until last weekend he has been a torn-faced wee so-and-so whether he has played well or not so he`s as effective at channelling that temper to play good golf as Harvey Weinstein is at Employer/Employee Relationships!! A quick glance at Hatton`s year-by-year Tournament Record shows he`s just a very streaky player. Lots of good results, stretches of missed cuts. Worryingly he`s a bit like a Scottish Footballer...not up to much throughout the Summer! Which makes me worry even more that he might do a bit of a Danny Willett and nail down a Ryder Cup place very soon and not play worth a monkeys in the lead up to the match. |