Tyrrell Hatton’s season began on the PGA Tour, took place primarily on the LIV Golf circuit and will end on the DP World Tour following his victory at the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Reaching 24 under between rounds at Carnoustie, Kingsbarn Golf Links and two at the Old Course at St. Andrews, the Englishman outlasted Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts for a one-stroke victory at the Home of Golf.
With the win, Hatton becomes the first three-time winner in tournament history, having previously been a back-to-back winner in 2016-17. He also ascends to 16th in the Race to Dubai and secures his place in the season finale while also climbing to 20th in the Official World Golf Rankings.
The start fulfills the four-start minimum required to maintain DP World Tour membership as Hatton now has eyes on accumulating as many Ryder Cup and OWGR points as possible. The victory pushes him to fifth in the European Ryder Cup team standings with the biennial event now less than a year away.
“I’m so happy that I’ve got my place booked in Dubai,” Hatton said. “When I teed off last week at the Spanish Open, I knew that I needed probably at least a second on my own to have a chance.
“Actually, I was meant to be going to Fitzy’s [Matt Fitzpatrick’s] wedding the week in Spain, and I messaged him a few weeks ago and I was like, ‘If I don’t have enough points, I might not be able to go,’ and I felt so bad about that. I guess having a little extra motivation to play well.”
After tying the course record at St. Andrews on Saturday with a third-round 61, Hatton had himself a more stressful time around the par 72 on Sunday. Getting off to a blistering start with four birdies in first 11 holes, he was met with a difficult back nine as wind turned towards players’ faces on the way in.
Despite dropping three shots in a two-hole stretch from Nos. 12-13, Hatton still had himself a narrow lead. It vanished completely when Colsaerts tacked on a beautiful birdie on the par-4 15th to effectively make it a three-hole match for the title. After exchanging a pair of pars on Nos. 16-17, both Hatton and Colsaerts hit their tee shots just in front of the green of the short par-4 18th.
Wielding a pitching wedge from just outside 30 yards, Hatton’s second bounced onto the green and settled 3 feet from the hole. When Colsaerts was unable to two-putt for birdie from off the surface, Hatton brushed his birdie in to secure another title at the tournament.
“It feels good,” Hatton said. “This is the first time I’ve actually won the tournament with my dad here. So it means a lot. And yeah, to do it on the Home of Golf is really special. Hard to describe to be honest. I’m at a loss for words.”
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