In Scotland’s iconic St. Andrews, Tyrrell Hatton etched his name in the history books, carding a remarkable 11-under 61 to tie the course record. This phenomenal performance propelled him to the top of the leaderboard, a single stroke ahead of Nicolas Colsaerts, going into the final round of the Dunhill Links Championship.
Hatton, a two-time winner of this prestigious European tour event, is poised to shatter his own 72-hole tournament record set in 2017. His masterclass display was capped off with birdies on the last two holes, including a precision 7-iron on the notorious Road Hole 17th, which left him with a tap-in birdie. He then sealed the deal with a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole.
The English golfer’s 22-under 194 total reflects the benign conditions at St. Andrews, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns. Hatton holds the tournament record of 24-under par and is determined to surpass it. “I was just focused on each hole, trying to make as many birdies as possible,” Hatton said. “When I sunk that putt on 17, I remembered shooting 10 under here before, so I really wanted to birdie the last. It’s actually my lowest round on tour, which is pretty cool.”
Colsaerts, meanwhile, had a memorable moment of his own, recording an albatross 2 on the par-5 16th hole at Kingsbarns. His 6-iron shot bounded up a slope, stopped, and then rolled back down into the cup. Although he missed a chance to tie Hatton for the lead, his 65 keeps him well within striking distance of his first win in five years.
Rory McIlroy, who started strong with seven birdies in nine holes, faltered on the back nine, eventually carding a 68 that left him 12 shots off the pace. Romain Langasque and Ross Fisher have also previously shot 61 at St. Andrews, while the lowest score recorded at the British Open is 63.
The star-studded pro-am event saw power brokers Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, participate, but their teams failed to advance to the final round. The PIF has been in talks with the PGA Tour to become a minority investor in the commercial PGA Tour Enterprises, potentially paving the way for a unified golf landscape.
Hatton is among 14 players from the PIF-backed LIV Golf League competing in the European tour event, despite being banned from PGA Tour events. Tom Vaillant of France and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen are also in contention, trailing Hatton by three and five shots, respectively.
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