Tyrrell Hatton survived a back-nine wobble before securing a record third Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title at St Andrews with a final-hole birdie.
Following a record-tying 61 on Saturday, the fiery Englishman entered Sunday’s finale with a one-shot advantage. Hatton stretched that lead to three after back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 to hit 26 under. But a two-hole hiccup (double bogey, bogey) on 13 and 14 saw Nicolas Colsaerts (70) join him atop the leaderboard on 23 under with three to play.
The co-leaders remained deadlocked heading to the last. On 18, the pair hit almost identical tee shots on the iconic short par 4, both landing just short of the green. Hatton, a little further away, chipped his second shot to about two feet, while Colsaerts putted to 8 feet, then missed his birdie attempt.
Hatton’s 21-inch birdie attempt went dead center and fell in the cup to secure victory on 24 under.
“It’s the first time I’ve actually won the tournament with my dad here so it means a lot and to do it at the home of golf is really special,” said Hatton.
“I’m trying not to cry, to be honest. I’m a bit lost for words.”
The win all but guarantees Hatton will be part of the Ryder Cup matches next September at Beth Page Black on Long Island. He will also be able to attend the upcoming wedding of Ryder Cup teammate Matt Fitzpatrick.
“I was meant to be going to Fitzy’s wedding the week of Spain [the Andalucia Masters] and I had to message him a few weeks ago to say if I don’t earn enough points I might not be able to go, and I felt so bad about that,” said Hatton, who has been part of two winning European Ryder Cup teams (2018 and 2023).
“I guess having a little bit of extra motivation to play well and be able to be there for their special day [was good].”
Hatton’s compatriot, and Ryder Cup teammate, Tommy Fleetwood carded a closing 67 to finish alone in third on 21 under, while Spain’s David Puig (68), South Africa’s Robin Williams (66) and Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (70) were two shots further back in a tie for fourth.
Spain superstar Jon Rahm (69) headlined a trio at joint-seven on 18 under, which also included France’s Tomm Vaillant (73) and China’s Haotong Li (69).
England’s Matthew Jordan (70) and Brooks Koepka (67) rounded out the top 10 finishers in Scotland.
2024 Dunhill Links Championship
Dunhill Links Top 10: Final
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 4)
1. Tyrrell Hatton -24 (-2)
2. Nicolas Colsaerts -23 (-2)
3. Tommy Fleetwood -21 (-5)
4. Robin Williams -19 (-6)
4. David Puig -19 (-4)
4. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen -19 (-2)
7. Jon Rahm -18 (-3)
7. Haotong Li -18 (-3)
7. Tom Vaillant -18 (+1)
10. Brooks Koepka -17 (-5)
10. Matthew Jordan -17 (-2)
