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Tyrrell Hatton survived the brutal conditions at Bay Hill through the weekend to pick up his first PGA Tour victory, making seven consecutive pars to close out a final-round 74 and finish one stroke ahead of Marc Leishman in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Hatton finished at 4-under-par 284 in a tournament in which only four players were under par at the end.
Until this Arnold Palmer Invitational, Hatton may have been best known to American golf audiences as the hot-tempered Englishman whose occasional eruptions overshadowed a career that included four European Tour victories.
On a course that was exasperating and intimidating, Hatton handled his emotions well on Sunday, shaking off a double bogey on the par-4 11th hole then playing the dangerous 17th and 18th holes in near-textbook style to win in his 60th PGA Tour start.
“The hardest thing for me today was trying to keep myself level-headed,” Hatton said. “Obviously there was a few times where I did boil over a little bit, but nothing compared to what I've been like in the past. I feel like with how tough it was, for me I did a good job.”
Hatton, a member of the victorious 2018 European Ryder Cup team, started the final round with a two-stroke lead, his first overnight lead on the PGA Tour, and parlayed it into a victory that came with the Palmer-inspired red cardigan that goes to the winner.
“It’s hard to explain,” he said. “ It’s just an incredible feeling, it was such a tough day. This is such an iconic venue. I’m just over the moon.”
Hatton’s victory came one week after a social media brushfire erupted surrounding comments made by television analyst Paul Azinger regarding the importance for European Tour players to win on the PGA Tour. The comment was directed at Tommy Fleetwood, who finished third at the Honda Classic after having a chance to win.
“I don’t think it’s a statement,” Hatton said of his victory. “Whatever tour you play, it’s extremely hard to win golf tournaments. We’re all trying to do that each week. More often than not, things don’t go your way and you end up not winning.
“It’s tough to win. It was my time this week.”
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