Pre-tournament favourite Tyrrell Hatton failed to take advantage of an “unreal” shot in the opening round of the Betfred British Masters.
Hatton looked set to end the day just a shot off the lead after covering his first 17 holes at The Belfry in four under par and hitting a superb recovery from a greenside bunker on the difficult 18th.
However, the Ryder Cup star then missed the short par putt and vented his frustration with his caddie before signing for a three-under-par 69, leaving him two shots behind compatriot Paul Waring and France’s Jeong weon Ko.
“I’m not going to change at 32,” admitted Hatton, who is playing on the DP World Tour after appealing against the sanctions imposed for playing LIV Golf events without permission.
“I was 22 when I started out on the DP World Tour so, if I’ve not changed in 10 years, then I don’t think I can change. I’m just reacting to things in the moment.
“Sure, there are times when I wish I didn’t say certain words and some things come out that you wish you could take back. But at the end of the day it’s just a reaction. I guess I can’t apologise for being myself.
“I played some pretty good golf today, missed pretty much every putt I looked at and don’t think I could have scored much worse to be honest.”
Asked about the frustration of missing his par putt on the last, Hatton added: “You’d rather hit it out to 20 or 30 feet and two putt. You hit an unreal bunker shot and then miss from three-and-a-half feet, it’s annoying.”
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence, who finished fourth in the Open at Royal Troon last month, and Spain’s Jorge Campillo were a shot off the lead after matching rounds of 68, with England’s Jordan Smith, Laurie Canter and Andrew Wilson part of a large group on three under.
“I’m very happy, especially because it’s probably one of the worst warm-ups I’ve ever had so I was quite surprised when I got out there,” Smith told the PA news agency.
“I hit it great Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then got on to the range this morning and couldn’t hit my hat. I guess it’s a warm-up for a reason and I went out there and played some really good stuff to be fair.
“The course is in really good condition, probably the best I’ve seen it and probably the toughest I’ve seen it for a long time. The rough’s up in a few places and the firm conditions makes it tricky if you’re slightly out of position.
“This sort of course and the way it’s set up definitely suits me. Today the long game was great and that’s where I could take advantage of the par fives and par fours.”
Smith had missed the cut in his last three starts following a runners-up finish in the BMW International Open in Munich, but remains in contention to claim one of the 10 PGA Tour cards on offer to the top players in the Race to Dubai at the end of the season who are not already exempt.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and France’s Matthieu Pavon have both tasted victory on the PGA Tour this year after securing their playing rights via the same route.
“It’s definitely inspiring to see those guys go over there and show the Americans that us Europeans can do it over there,” Smith said.
“That’s the main goal and with a few more good results, you never know.”
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