Tyrrell Hatton was criticised for smashing a tee marker in Dubai (Image: Getty)
Tyrrell Hatton has been praised by for not caring what people think. The English golfer banked crucial Ryder Cup points after overcoming strong criticism to win the Dubai Desert Classic at the weekend.
Hatton smashed a tee marker and received a stern telling-off from a tournament official. The 33-year-old subsequently declared: “I don’t want to be boring like everyone else.”
But he regained his composure and went on to hold off competition from McIlroy and Daniel Hillier to win. Hatton’s £1.3million cheque leaves him in strong contention to win an automatic berth in Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup team.
McIlroy believes Hatton is a “massive asset” to Team Europe and has praised his rival for not caring about what people think. “He’s become very consistent. He does things his own way. He plays within his capabilities,” the Northern Irishman said.
“He hits the ball very straight, he doesn’t try to shape it really one way or another. Hits it really straight and it looks like he has his sort of systems and the way he practices.
“He does a really good job at that. He also doesn’t give a flying fig what anyone else thinks which is a really good attribute to have in the game. He’ll be amazing in New York. He’s proved that over the last three Ryder Cups. He’s a massive asset for the European team.”
Hatton learned about McIlroy’s comments during his press conference. He responded: “[McIlroy] obviously knows me well enough by now to know what I’m like and the type of person I am, and yeah, I mean, a lot of people don’t like how I’ll be on the golf course.
“Some people might enjoy watching it. But that’s up to those people to decide, the people that know me as a person and what I kind of stand for. I think I’m a pretty honest person. Yeah, that’s for other people to have their opinions. But I’m just being me. Yeah, I guess I agree with Rory that I don’t need to change.”
Rory McIlroy backed Tyrrell Hatton for not caring what people think (Image: Getty)
Hatton took out his anger on a tee marker after a poor third-round shot. He admitted to growing frustrated when he does not meet his own high standards.
“Everyone says that you can’t be perfect but I try to be perfect every shot I hit,” Hatton said.
“I have high standards, and I get frustrated when I don’t meet those standards. Yeah, generally, yeah, I’m always going to wear my heart on my sleeve and give it a hundred percent, and that’s never, ever going to change.”