They will join defending champion and World Number Two Rory McIlroy at the iconic Emirates Golf Club for the first Rolex Series event of the 2024 Race to Dubai, from January 18-21.

Reigning Open Champion Harman sealed his maiden Major title at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in July during a stellar season which saw him notch up six further top tens – including two runner-up finishes – on the PGA TOUR and make his Ryder Cup debut in Rome in September. 

The World Number Nine, who will make his Hero Dubai Desert Classic debut in January, said: “I’m excited to tee it up in Dubai for the first time. It looks like a stunning venue that has identified great champions. I’d love to add my name to that list.”

Six-time DP World Tour winner and Dubai resident Fleetwood is more familiar with the Majlis Course, with the World Number 14 returning for his 13th consecutive appearance at the event.

The 2017 Race to Dubai champion rounded out a memorable season – which included his second Ryder Cup win – with a runner-up finish in Dubai at the DP World Tour Championship, and he is aiming for further success in the United Arab Emirates, following his back-to-back victories in Abu Dhabi in 2017 and 2018.

Fleetwood said: “This an event that I love, I’ve played the Hero Dubai Desert Classic every year since I came out on Tour. I look forward to playing in front of friends and family again in January.”

Hatton, who enjoyed Ryder Cup success alongside European teammates Fleetwood and McIlroy in Rome, has four top ten finishes in his nine previous Hero Dubai Desert Classic appearances. He has also tasted past success in the region, with the last of his six DP World Tour titles coming at the 2021 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

The World Number 12 will be seeking a record-equalling fifth Rolex Series win when he tees it up in Dubai once again.

Hatton said: “It’s always a great tournament and I’ve played well in the past. I’m looking forward to getting back to Emirates Golf Club and hopefully adding to my success in the region.” 

American Young will join compatriot Harman in making his Hero Dubai Desert Classic debut, and just his second regular DP World Tour event appearance following the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open.

The 26-year-old, who was named PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year for the 2021/22 season, enjoyed five top ten finishes this season, including runner-up at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and T7 at the Masters, adding to his burgeoning Major credentials following top three finishes at the US PGA Championship and The Open in 2022.  

The World Number 21 said: “I’m looking forward to getting over to the Hero Dubai Desert Classic for the first time. I’ve heard many great things about both Dubai and the event. It’ll be a fun week of competition to help kickstart my year.”

Simon Corkill, Executive Tournament Director of Hero Dubai Desert Classic, said: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming Brian Harman and Cameron Young for the first time to the Hero Dubai Desert Classic 2024 while also seeing the return of Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton again.

“They have all achieved great success in their careers so far and their rankings speaks for itself of how competitive they are. By lining up for the tournament not only makes the field stronger but it also solidifies the Hero Dubai Desert Classic’s position as one of the best golf tournaments in the world and presents a fantastic opportunity for fans to watch the best stars in action.”

The Hero Dubai Desert Classic will be celebrating its 35th anniversary and its recent official certification as the first Geo-Certified event in the Middle East, and the first in the DP World Tour’s Rolex Series.

This year’s event combines world-class golf with a huge array of family-friendly entertainment.  Spectators can look forward to a wider variety of options off the course than ever before with something for fans of all ages to enjoy across the tournament. 

Free general admission tickets and limited hospitality packages for the Dallah Lounge are still available at dubaidesertclassic.com. 

Organisers are also encouraging fans to use the Metro service to travel to and from the tournament, with Al Khail station located directly outside the club’s main entrance.

Main image: David Cannon/Getty Images

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“I have nothing to say right now,” Finau told reporters, according to the Palm Beach Post. “I haven’t heard anything.”

Spanish website Ten Golf posted a story earlier this week stating Finau and Ryder Cupper Tyrrell Hatton may join Rahm ahead of LIV Golf’s third season in 2024. Both Finau and Hatton have previously been linked with LIV Golf due to their past participation in the Saudi International, which is supported by LIV’s financial backer, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

When asked later if he had a response to his name being floated in rumours, Finau added, “No, not yet. I haven’t let anything marinate other than just playing right now.”

In a 2022 Golf Digest interview, Finau was asked about his thoughts on why he initially turned down LIV’s overtures. “I probably shouldn’t go into specifics,” Finau said. “There are so many layers to this. The temperature in the golfing world has been extremely hot. It’s changed the landscape of our game, and I don’t believe it’s been for the good. Competition is healthy, and so it’s not terrible that it’s forced the PGA Tour to re-examine some of its operations. I’ve always been a believer in working inward, not looking outward to a source for help.

“I’ve been shocked by how many guys jumped ship to LIV. I understand the monetary gain can be hard to resist, but I’ve always been grateful to be a PGA Tour member. I remember how hard I fought to become one. As a kid, I never dreamt about making $100 million. I dreamt about making a putt that meant everything.”

Finau, 34, has six career PGA Tour wins, four of which have come since July 2022. He has made two appearances for the United States in both the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, and is No. 21 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

The PGA Tour and PIF have a self-imposed deadline of Dec. 31 to finish negotiations regarding a potential partnership following their surprise framework agreement. The tour, however, has also been seeking investment from private equity groups, possibly to appease antitrust regulators but also, theoretically, as an alternative to the Saudi money. The tour and PIF can agree to move the deadline back.

Main Image: Maddie Meyer/PGA of America

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So, by nature of the infrequency of such an outcome, the potential for a tie is rarely talked about. That changed somewhat in Italy this week because of what transpired last weekend in Spain, where the American and European Solheim Cup squads found themselves deadlocked at 14 points each after Sunday singles.

As the Europeans celebrated heartily on the 17th green, a casual observer might have wondered, “Why so happy when you didn’t win?” The answer, of course, is that in these international competitions, the team that won the previous meeting gets to retain possession of the Cup.

You want the trophy back? Rip it away.

From the point of view of this edition’s Ryder Cup players, ahead of what many project to be a very competitive three days, there is certainly debate about whether accepting a tie for such enormous events makes sense in a seemingly win-at-all-costs sporting landscape. Interestingly, the opinions somewhat were divided by European and American views — and maybe that’s because Europe are the only team in the modern era to retain the Cup with a tie in ’89, after they beat the US in 1987 at Muirfield Village in Ohio.

“Fourteen-all? I love them whenever we won the last one,” Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy said to laughter during his formal pre-match interview.

“I think it’s part of history and tradition. I was watching the Solheim Cup last week, and obviously there was huge celebrations when Europe got to 14 and retained the cup. And I thought to myself: ‘Geez, they are celebrating a lot for a draw,’ and then I go back to Medinah in 2012, and we went ballistic when we got to 14 as well.”

That was no tie, though. Europe pulled off an incredible turnaround that Sunday outside of Chicago to defeat the US 14.5-13.5.

In no surprise, the Europeans seem to value the history and tradition of the cup retention idea.

“I do like traditions of the game, and this competition has been around since 1927, and that’s the way they have always done it,” McIlroy said. “Does that mean that’s the way they always have to do it? Probably not. But it’s nice to keep some of the tradition around the event.”

Englishman Justin Rose, who will play in his sixth Ryder Cup, said: “History is history. History is so important, I think. It’s quite nice to wrest it back fair and square. You have to win it to get the cup back.”

Rose then brought up an example in cricket that would be indecipherable to most American fans. In The Ashes series played between England and Australia, draws are acceptable.

“Retaining The Ashes is a big thing,” Rose said. “You can have rain that can interrupt and cause draws and things. But retaining it, not letting the other team have the trophy I think can be a win. So, therefore, sometimes the tie is still relevant in my mind.”

American Max Homa, a Ryder Cup rookie, likely knows little or nothing about cricket, but is a sports fanatic, and you can probably guess where he comes down on the subject.

“I’ve never liked ties. They don’t make sense to me,” he said. “The whole point of any competition is to see who wins. So, I do not like ties. I do not like the retaining thing.

“I understand it,” he added. “I understand why they do it, but I’m not a fan of it. You have a completely new team, for instance, at the Solheim Cup, and they tied. Someone should play a playoff.”

The Solheim result produced a number of ideas about how to settle a tie, from pitting two pre-selected players against each other in a playoff, or having multiple golfers play sudden-death, or requiring any singles matches that tied to keep playing.

Tiger Woods and Ernie Els faced each other on the final day of the 2003 Presidents Cup. Stuart Franklin

Homa, who has been watching a lot of film lately of past team competitions, recalled the 2003 Presidents Cup, played in South Africa, when Tiger Woods and Ernie Els set out on extra holes to decide the winning team after they tied in regulation, a unique trait of the US versus Internationals competition. But after they halved the three straight holes, they shook hands and called it a draw.

“I thought it was one of the most exciting things we’ve had, although it still ended in a tie,” Homa said. “That was one of the coolest memories you could have of a team event. You would, I guess, crave more of that if possible, plus we don’t tie very often in this thing.”

Homa shrugged and concluded, “People much smarter than me would have an answer for that, but I don’t know, just ties leave a bad taste in my mouth.”

One European who is on board with a possible playoff was Englishman Tyrrell Hatton. His exchange with a reporter got off to a hilarious start when a reference was made to “kissing your sister”.

“I don’t want to know what that’s like, what you referred to in the question,” Hatton quipped.

More seriously, he offered, “I would say tying is probably not ideal. I think it would be quite interesting if there was a way of putting in like a playoff, if that was to happen. I think it would be pretty exciting for fans, and it would certainly create a pretty epic atmosphere.

“Maybe just having the tee times starting a bit earlier on Sunday would allow for, I don’t know, a nine-hole better-ball, two players best-ball sort of playoff format.

“So, I think that would be a lot more exciting than just that’s a tie like: ‘Oh, such-and-such retain the Cup.’ I don’t think that’s the best thing.”

The debate will go on, even in the European team room.

Main image: Europe captain Tony Jacklin holds up the Ryder Cup trophy after his team retained it by tying the Americans at The Belfry. David Cannon

The post Ryder Cup 2023: Players debate the merits of playoffs to decide who wins the Cup appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Tyrrell Hatton has never been one to keep his feelings to himself — whether is four-letter-wording himself after a rare poor shot, alarming greenskeepers with equipment abuse that would make Nick Kyrgios proud, or lambasting the course itself (just as poor old Augusta and Yas Links — Abu Dhabi).

The self-confessed “angry golfer”, who is playing the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth this week in the DP World Tour’s flagship Rolex Series event, showed his Mr Hyde side once again on Thursday, but the target of his wrath this time around was a little bit different.

Watch as a member of the Surrey wildlife gets on the wrong end of a Tyrrell tirade:

"I hate wasps!"

It's always entertaining when @TyrrellHatton's around ?#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/SdXRd8QIGq

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 14, 2023

Yep, even wasps are not safe out there when Hatton is on the course.

Mid-swing on the par-3 fifth at Virginia Water, the Englishman, who is set for his fourth Ryder Cup at the end of the month, had to take a step away and then take a swipe at the pesky interloper. He then composed himself but found the rough, forcing him to have to work hard to save par — that wasp did not show its face again.

Still, I am sure Hatton was more contented when he came off the 18th to sign for a four-under 68 and is firmly in the hunt for what would be a second title at Wentworth — wildlife beware!

The post Watch as Hatton hits a stinger — wasp is latest to feel Tyrrell’s wrath appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Heck, even if Hatton did shoot one of those rounds of four-under or better, he’d probably still be angry that he didn’t shoot even lower. But he was extra-miffed after the 71, seemingly fully aware that his season had likely ended.

Evidently, it had not, and a PGA Tour official made sure to inform him of that fact as he was exiting the locker room. Hatton was in no mood to hear this excellent news, however, which made for a hilarious awkward video that the PGA Tour tweeted out Sunday:

Some poor guy got sent into the lion's den with Tyrrell Hatton in the name of content, and it's wonderfully awkward pic.twitter.com/y3lL7I85gU

— Ryan Ballengee (@RyanBallengee) August 21, 2023

Being informed that you’re going to sneak into the Tour Championship, where just showing up and finishing in dead last (30th place) is worth $500,000, should produce a reaction of joy. Shock. Awe. Something along those lines. Hatton’s reaction?

Au contraire, mon frere. You will be there. Save some of that excitement for next week!

Again, in fairness to Hatton, he’s not upset or uninterested in going to East Lake as it’s been assumed on social media. He’s emotionally reeling after finishing with a double-bogey 7 on the 15th hole and with two bogeys on 17 and 18. But there’s still something hilarious about the image of someone being told they are about to make a guaranteed 500 grand and being like “uhh, ok, cool.” Either way, it’s good content, so there’s that.

The post WATCH: No one has ever been less interested in a FedEx Cup standings update than Tyrrell Hatton appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Sports psychologists tell us that one of the keys to success is knowing yourself, your strengths and weaknesses. Tyrrell Hatton, one of the most expressive players in the game, definitely is self-aware. And he knows that one of his weaknesses is playing too much golf.

The fiery Englishman, who wears his emotions on both sleeves, was brutally honest when reporter Doug Ferguson pointed out to him that one PGA Tour player — it turned out to be Mark Hubbard — took only four weeks off all year, a schedule that nevertheless enabled him to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Hatton said he couldn’t see himself doing that.

“I mean, I can have some pretty good head-offs after having only three weeks off, so only having four weeks off over the course of almost a year, that would be brain damage to me,” Hatton said on Tuesday at the FedEx St Jude Championship. “That’s some serious commitment. There’s a lot of miles being travelled, and I’m sure there’s been some highs and lows in that period for sure.”

Hatton, 31, actually is in line to play more events this season than his previous three. The FedEx St Jude will be his 19th start, and at 17th in the FedEx Cup standings, he’s poised to reach the Tour Championship, which would give him 21 total events. In previous years he has played in no more than 19.

Of course, he had a good reason to apply himself more often this season with changes to the playoffs. Only the top 70 qualified this year. The top 50 after this week’s opening playoff event qualify for the eight $20 million signature events in 2024.

“I think we’ve all known since the start of this year that you need to be … the top 50 is really kind of important number,” he said. “I think I’d be in the bracket with a fair few guys that have maybe played a little bit more than they typically would, just to try and give yourself the opportunities to make sure that you do finish in that top 50. Fortunately for me this year, I’ve managed to play some good golf, and I’ve secured that. It makes it a lot easier to certainly plan next year because you know you’re going to be in the elevated events moving forward.”

It definitely will make it easier on his brain, too.

The post Tyrrell Hatton happy to report no ‘brain damage’ despite playing more than usual appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Donald Ross fans, avert your eyes. An Englishman has taken aim at one of the legendary course architect’s North Carolina gems — Sedgefield Country Club, host of this week’s Wyndham Championship.

In a stunning turn of events, that Englishman’s name is not Tyrrell Hatton, a man who seems to have nothing nice to say about any venue on the PGA Tour schedule (except for TPC Sawgrass, of all places). It’s four-time DP World Tour winner Matt Wallace, who opened with a solid three-under 67 on Thursday, which has him in a tie for 16th and inched him a little closer to the projected top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings. It’s the type of start you’d think a player would be thrilled with in a make-or-break event.

Thrilled is the last word you’d use to describe how Wallace was feeling afterward, however. Two bogeys over his final three holes certainly played a role in that, but so did a few of the design features he felt contributed to those bogeys.

“A bit [annoyed] actually with the finish,” Wallace said. “Playing nicely. Yeah, just frustrated. I don’t like this golf course.”

Why is that, a reporter on site astutely followed up. Wallace was more than willing to go into detail.

“Because the run-offs are just absolutely ridiculous and this — it’s just not fun to play,” said Wallace. “Hit a shot out of the rough on the last and it landed on the front and runs backwards 40 yards. Like, it’s just not great.

“Yeah, I shouldn’t be in the rough,” he added. “But it’s difficult to hit the fairway all the time, especially like this. And then hit shots to the front and just — this is my third time playing. Every single time like, yeah, 83 per cent of the winners hit green in regulations pretty much, so a lot of green in regulations is key, but the penalty for miss — even on the par 3 down the hill, 12, you can’t go long because you can putt it off the green, so you play the smart play and you play it towards the front, the middle and, from 220 yards, I mean, it’s too severe, so they need to do something about it.”

Wallace, a notoriously fiery player, missed the cut in each of his previous two appearances at Sedgefield, each time needing a huge week in order to advance to the FedEx Cup Playoffs. So you can understand the frustration. Though, to that, some would say, “play better”.

In fairness to Ross, an all-time great, Wallace wants to like it. He’s trying.

“Just know that — I’m trying to like it, I’m trying to like it,” he said. “I think the most important person here this week with me is my psychologist and we’re trying to enjoy the tournament rather than what it produces. So great tournament, great sponsor. Just for me, if I didn’t have to come here, I wouldn’t, but I kind of need to.”

RELATED: Matt Wallace berates his caddie on camera

Wallace entered the week at 80th in the FedEx Cup standings, needing to jump 10 spots in order to make the Playoffs for the first time in his career. The Playoffs come with some serious job security for 2024, hence why Wallace not only needs to be here, but needs to play well here.

“I want to be here, I just don’t like the golf course,” Wallace said. “I want to be here, I want to play here and I want to play well. Maybe I shouldn’t say that. And hopefully if I win I’ll say something different at the end of the week, I absolutely love this golf course. But I know the way to play well around here, you’ve got to hit lots of greens and I felt like I’m doing that. You know, the putting was good today, which has been great.

“I just think the penalty is just really, really severe, especially with Bermuda grass, you know. It’s difficult to chip and play and I just think — yeah, just personally, my personal belief, my personal preference is if I play or design a golf course, I just have areas where it wouldn’t just carry on running away.”

Before the haters pounce, Wallace did make sure to acknowledge that he was being a little … well, we’ll let him take that one.

“I don’t know, maybe I’m just being me and being a bit bitchy, but yeah, it’s just how — it’s just how I see the golf course. Runoffs in the fairway, you can hit the fairway and they run into the rough. I mean, I don’t see that.”

Wallace is currently projected at 74th in the standings, on the outside looking in. The minimum finish he needs to have a chance to get into next week’s FedEx St Jude Championship is solo 14th. Based off of historical PGA Tour projections, however, a two-way tie for fourth or better would give him the best possible chance. So there’s much work to be done, both mentally and physically, for Wallace this week.

The post An Englishman not named Tyrrell Hatton takes aim at this week’s tour venue: ‘Not fun to play’ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

On the second hole of his first round, Hatton hit what an announcer described as a “horrid” approach shot. And upon impact he dropped the club with a loud thud so it’s not like he didn’t show any frustration. Again, this is Tyrrell Hatton we’re talking about. But what he did next will probably surprise you. Have a look and listen:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by DP World Tour (@dpworldtour)

That’s right, he laughed. Like a maniac. “That was so bad,” the announcer says in the clip, “he didn’t even get angry at it.”

Hey, maybe those DP World Tour anger management classes are finally starting to pay off! In any event, Hatton’s reaction certainly didn’t hurt his score. After hitting that “horrid” shot, he managed to save par on his way to shooting an opening 69. So now he can laugh about it even more.

The post Tyrrell Hatton showed remarkable restraint following this epic club drop appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Jordan Spieth (69), Tyrrell Hatton (71) and Rory McIlroy (72), all among the most entertaining players on tour, albeit for different reasons, put on quite the show at Muirfield Village. McIlroy got the trio of Ryder Cuppers started with a pin-seeker on the third.

However, they’re all looking up at Davis Riley (67), who played his final seven holes in four under par to grab the lead at the Memorial Tournament. But no other group produced as many highlights as the marquee trio.

As is typically the case, Spieth filled up the cup in a variety of ways, sinking long birdie putts, saving par from seemingly impossible spots and holing out from off the green. If there was any concern that his missed cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge last week was a harbinger of things to come, he quickly put that to rest.

Spieth was only one-under when he missed the green at the par-4 10th. In vintage Spieth fashion, he was not deterred.

He's a magician ?

Ridiculous touch from the bunker for @JordanSpieth! pic.twitter.com/b5dhZpgcH5

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 1, 2023

He followed that up with a simple two-putt birdie at the par-5 11th to get to three-under. Spieth found some trouble off the 13th tee, missing the fairway right, then short-sided himself in the left rough 30 yards short of the green. All he could do was hack it out to about 23 feet. No matter. He canned that to save par and stay bogey-free for the round and one shot off the lead.

Par save and a fist pump ?@JordanSpieth remains just one back @MemorialGolf. pic.twitter.com/uLUllBJ5Gh

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 1, 2023

He came to the 17th still one shot back. He left his approach shot roughly 15 feet from the hole for birdie — one of just eight greens he hit all day. If you’ve been even a casual viewer of golf most of the last decade, you already know what happened next.

Walking it in for birdie ?@JordanSpieth heads to the last with a share of the lead @MemorialGolf. pic.twitter.com/UVpV5QHC64

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 1, 2023

“It felt like a great round. It was nice to beat a tough golf course,” Spieth said. “I did that on Sunday at the PGA, and then a place that historically has been, I think, the best place for me as a professional, at Colonial, to miss the cut there was just, was such a bummer.

“So to come out and put good work in, feel really healthy, and get a lot of short game work in and get my touch — feel like my touch is back. It started on the first hole today. I mean, I feel like the bunker play is one of the strengths of my game, and the last couple tournaments it’s been really poor, actually poor enough to not allow me to have a chance to win golf tournaments.”

The birdie tied him for the lead, but his glory was short-lived as he had to scramble to save bogey at the last to finish two shots behind Riley.

A less-fortunate playing partner

McIlroy had a similarly impressive round going through most of the afternoon. He wasn’t perfect, but few players run into birdies the way he McIlroy does. The Northern Irishman played the front nine in two under, despite parring both par fives, thanks to iron shots like this at the par-4 third.

He erased a bogey at the 10th with a birdie at the 11th. At the other par 5 on the back nine, McIlroy dripped a chip slowly down the green to tap-in range on 15 to get to three-under and one off the lead.

In perhaps a perfect representation of the last several years of his career, McIlroy got close to the top, but could not grab control of the tournament. He stuffed his tee shot on the difficult par-3 16th inside six feet, but could not convert and remained in a tie for third.

Pin seeking with @McIlroyRory ? pic.twitter.com/HUSzIBKgw5

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 1, 2023

And then came the 18th hole.

McIlroy’s drive missed right and he was left with a bad lie and a worse stance. Swinging at waist-height, he was barely able to advance his ball. Once again from the rough, McIlroy flew the green, leaving an impossible chip to a green now sloping severely away from him. Unable to keep that shot from running through the green, he quickly found himself chipping for bogey, which he left nine feet short. After missing the putt for double, he tapped in for triple bogey and, in one hole, fell into a tie for 33rd.

McIlroy averages 4.33 birdies per round at Muirfield Village, more than anyone else in tournament history, but his best finish is a tie for fourth. The good news is, he won’t have long to think about his late-afternoon misfortune with an early tee time on Friday.

A proper showman

Few entertain like Hatton. The fiery Englishman is notorious for his animation on the course and disdain for otherwise revered golf courses.

Thursday was no different.

Hatton left himself an ideal yardage on the par 5, which is common among PGA Tour players. What happened next was theatre only he could produce.

When a club drop leads to a birdie.

Just a casual hole for @TyrrellHatton ? pic.twitter.com/n7NrZnOhi4

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 1, 2023

That is a full club drop and surrender cobra, followed by a 32-foot bomb for birdie. The full gamut of emotions in just a few minutes.

A few holes later, he was in danger of dropping a shot, only to save par from off the green.

If this threesome produces highlights like this on Friday, the fans at Muirfield Village will have more than just the course’s famous milkshakes to rave about.

The post A marquee group delivers, a comeback completed and a surprise leader at the Memorial appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Tyrrell Hatton doesn’t know why he plays well at hard golf courses. Yet after a second-round 65 to post eight-under and grab a share of the 36-hole lead at the Wells Fargo Championship, Hatton is once again in contention at Quail Hollow, one of the toughest courses on the PGA Tour.

The fiery Englishman’s lone tour win in the US came in early 2020 at Bay Hill, a stout test made even tougher that week with gusty winds. One player broke par in Saturday’s third round that week. Hatton, a six-time winner on the DP World Tour, finished runner-up at the Players Championship in March, closing with seven-under 65 at TPC Sawgrass, just one week after another top-five finish at Bay Hill. The premise, then, is confirmed: Hatton plays well at tough courses, perhaps more than at more pedestrian tour stops. But why?

“I have no idea,” the co-leader said after capping his second round with a birdie on the ninth, part of a four-under stretch over his final four holes. “I mean, I guess with my mental approach from the outside looking in, you’d suggest that they wouldn’t be great for me, but I always try my best and yeah, this week and a tough golf course is no different.”

That Hatton’s mental approach suggests he wouldn’t play well at tough courses is as understated as it is introspective. Over the last few years, the World No. 18 has doubled as a professional content creator on Golf Twitter with his outbursts and not-so-kind words for some of golf’s most famous courses. To briefly summarise, he has called the home of the Masters, Augusta National, “unfair at times”. He has likened the 10th hole at Riviera Country Club to, well, a four-letter synonym of excrement. He said he “would love for a bomb to drop” on the 18th hole at Yas Links. And he blasted the set-up at last year’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills.

What gives? How does Hatton maintain such a disdain for some of the toughest setups while simultaneously playing some of his best golf on them? The answer might be in his own words. After his round on Friday, the 31-year-old was asked if there’s anything he’ll look to improve on over the next two days or if he’ll try to keep doing what he’s doing.

“To be honest, I won’t really think about it until we start hitting balls 40 minutes before our tee time tomorrow,” Hatton said. “Tomorrow’s a new day. You have new feels; try and get comfortable again and go out there and try our best.”

Whereas a tougher course might tempt some players to overanalyse, Hatton’s approach is refreshingly simple. Don’t think about it. Paired with this present mindset is Hatton’s admission that each day brings new feels, and you can’t force yourself into replicating the same things that had worked a day before. You don’t need to be a mental guru to know that’s a world-class approach.

So don’t be fooled by Hatton’s on-course antics should he lash out at Quail Hollow over the weekend and expect “The Angry Golfer” to stay near the top of the board in the tour’s seventh designated event of the season. He’ll start the third round tied with Nate Lashley and Wyndham Clark, one better than a host of stars at seven under.

Here are three other takeaways from Day 2 at Quail Hollow:

Justin Thomas’ diet dividends and putting tweak

Head to any gym in January, and you’ll be swarmed by the flocks of people clinging to their New Year’s resolutions of clean eating, cardio and weightlifting. Come back in March and you’ve got the place to yourself, as the healthy hopefuls abandoned their resolutions because they weren’t seeing results.

Over the last few months, Justin Thomas might be battling a similar dilemma as he’s adopted a strict gluten-free, dairy-free diet to address the lack of energy he had last year. But with just two top 10s in 2023 and yet to be in serious contention on a Sunday, Thomas hasn’t seen the diet dividends so far, at least in his on-course play. We’re not suggesting Thomas, a world-class athlete, might succumb to the same lack of discipline that plagues the common folk, but sticking with such a strict diet when it’s not clear it’s helping win tournaments is not easy.

Yet Thomas might be starting to see some results this week in Charlotte, where he opened with rounds of 68 and 67 to sit seven under and tied for fourth place. The solid first two days bucks a trend of average starts for Thomas since his win at the 2022 PGA Championship. Since then, Thomas had been inside the top five after two rounds just once. It’s now twice with his nice start at Quail Hollow.

Part of the reason for his uncharacteristic year so far is his struggles on the greens. Entering the week, he sits 152nd on tour in strokes gained/putting. To address the weakness, Thomas has started to use AimPoint Express, the increasingly popular method of reading greens. Last week, Thomas spent time working with his putting coach, John Graham, and learning the method from its inventor, Mark Sweeney.

“Yeah, I learned it last week, or I guess had a lesson with it,” Thomas said. “I felt like it was something that maybe it’s the missing piece, maybe it’s not. Like I said, I feel like I’ve been putting significantly better than the putting results have shown and a lot of it, at least I’ve noticed these last two days is it just takes a lot of the guessing out and simplifies it.”

Thomas has been solid on the greens so far this week, he’s 21st in strokes gained/putting, which for an elite ball-striker like Thomas, is more than enough to keep him in contention.

“It’s really just, it’s actually sped everything up for me. It’s sped my process up and simplified it. I’ve really liked it the last two days,” Thomas said of the new method. “At the end of the day whether it’s AimPoint, whether it’s reading the greens, it’s a guess. It’s just your best guess and I need to have more faith that my guess is really good.”

Rory, Jordan, Day all struggle

Rory McIlroy didn’t have his best stuff Friday and made the cut right on the number. Mike Ehrmann

Though many top players sit near the lead heading into the weekend, several notable names struggled on Friday in North Carolina. A day after his 34th birthday when he looked sharp in opening with 68, Rory McIlroy struggled with all parts of his game as he limped to the clubhouse for a 73, making the cut on the number at one-under. He showed signs of rust, particularly off the tee and with the wedges in just his second round since missing the cut at the Masters nearly a month ago.

The Quail Hollow savant who has won three times around the Charlotte track started Friday with a birdie at the third before three straight bogeys on Nos. 5, 6 and 7. McIlroy dropped shots on two of the three par 5s, both due in large part to wayward drives — well right into the penalty area on seven and left into the trees on the 10th. Coming up the last hole needing a par to avoid a second straight missed cut, McIlroy pulled his tee shot toward the edge of the creek, leaving an awkward approach. After finding the green, some 70-plus feet away, McIlroy made a five-foot tester for par to make the weekend on the number.

Playing alongside McIlroy, Jason Day was not so fortunate with his finish. Working on a bogey-free round of three-under to sit one inside the cutline, Day overdrew his tee shot on the difficult par-3 17th. Despite landing on the green, the slope and draw spin fed the ball into the water, leading to a double-bogey to knock the Australian back to even par, one outside the cut line. After failing to make birdie up the last, Day missed his first cut since November at the RSM Classic. The cut snaps a streak of solid play for the resurgent Day, who came to Charlotte with four top 10s in his last six starts.

Jordan Spieth was out early on Friday and struggled with his ball striking all day en route to a six-over 77 and a missed cut. Coming off a top five at the Masters and a playoff loss at Harbour Town a couple weeks ago, Spieth looked lost with the longer clubs, losing over three shots to the field with his approach play and finishing near the bottom of the field in strokes gained/off-the-tee in the second round. The disappointing round came after Spieth closed his first round with a triple-bogey at the par-4 18th on Thursday. The 13-time tour winner came to his 18th hole of the week in nice position at two-under but finished with a 36-hole total of seven-over.

Why Xander Schauffele is trying to ‘do less’

Logic figures that if you want to be the best golfer in the world, you want to be the best at each individual part of the game. But if you hadn’t heard, golf is an illogical game and sometimes trying to max out each part of the game can have negative effects.

Sitting at seven-under, just one shot back of the lead entering the weekend, Xander Schauffele is well positioned to win his eighth career tour title and first since going back-to-back at the Travelers and Genesis Scottish Open last summer. The strong start continues a stretch of great play for the 29-year-old, who is coming off consecutive top-five finishes and four-straight top 10s. Yet Schauffele says the great play is the result of what he’s not doing.

“For a little bit I was trying to sort of learn how to be optimal in every category of your game, it’s a little bit different,” Schauffele said. “Like the best bunker players, the best chippers, the best wedge players, mid-iron players, long-iron players, drivers, it’s just a slightly different delivery to all those things.

“Just as of late, I’ve been trying to just not tinker too much with everything. As weird as that sounds, just trying to do less and getting more out of it. I like to fiddle a little bit too much, which I get criticism for from my own team, and just a little bit less of that has been helpful.”

Given that each part of the game requires a subtly different technique, rather than tinker with each part of his game to optimise it, Schauffele is finding more success sticking to what he’s got. Turns out, what he’s got is a game that’s top 10 in strokes gained/tee-to-green and top 25 in strokes gained/putting.

When asked what he needs to focus on this weekend to stay in contention, Schauffele said, “Yeah, just upstairs. You know the deal.”

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