Emotions run high on the final holes of a PGA Tour event, particularly for the players at the top of the leaderboard. Even as Bay Hill has chewed up and spit out some of the world’s best at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational (see: Brooks Koepka’s third-round 81), Tyrrell Hatton managed to stay above the fray through the first three rounds.
At the 11th hole on Sunday, Hatton felt the heat. The 28-year-old Englishman started the day with a two-shot lead and appeared to be in good shape after turning in even par. At the par-4 11th, however, Hatton hit his drive into water on the left side of the hole.
After taking a drop, Hatton hit it over the green on his approach and ended up walking away with a double-bogey. He left no doubts about his level of frustration in a colorful display of gestures not often seen on the PGA Tour.
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Using his putter as a rifle, Hatton turned and fired a pretend shot back toward the pond that swallowed his drive. After that, he extended a middle finger behind him in the pond’s direction, too. There was one final, similarly obscene gesture as he walked off the green and toward the 12th tee.
Tyrrell Hatton flipping off the lake pic.twitter.com/A9wniZ2o26
— Kenny Lee (@KennyLe13690212) March 8, 2020
Hatton, a four-time European Tour winner looking for his first PGA Tour title, was 2 over on the day through 11 holes. He briefly shared the lead with Sungjae Im after Im birdied No. 12. Im, winner of last week’s Honda Classic, dropped back with a double-bogey of his own on the par-4 13th.
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