Just like last year, Tyrrell Hatton stood on the fabled 18th green at St Andrews holding the Alfred Dunhill Links trophy — and just like last year his fellow Englishman Ross Fisher was left wondering what on earth he must do to experience the same feeling.
Runner-up to Hatton 12 months ago, Fisher signed for a 61 and a record score on the most famous course in golf.
Yet still it was not enough to dislodge Hatton and the imperious hold he has on this event.
Tyrrell Hatton defended his Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title at St Andrews on Sunday
Overnight leader Hatton held off the late challenge of Ross Fisher to retain the crown
If Hatton can bottle the bonhomie he exudes at this tournament and consign the bouts of frustration that often hold him back to the past, there are majors and all sorts of other glittering prizes in his future. This was stunning to behold from the 25-year-old from High Wycombe, who finished his week with 65s to his name at Kingsbarns and Carnoustie, and rounds of 68 and 66 at the oldest of Old Courses.
His total of 24-under was a tournament record, as he became the first player to complete a successful defence.
Yes, the weather could hardly have been more benign and the pin placements on Sunday were easier than they ought to have been given the forecast, but this was still some performance from Hatton, who went bogey-free from the 17th hole at St Andrews on Thursday until the end of the tournament.
‘It’s an unbelievable feeling to win twice at the Home of Golf, but this felt much harder than last year,’ he said. ‘All credit to Ross, what a round from him. I just feel very happy to get over the line.’
At least Fisher, who has now finished second three times in this event, had something tangible to show for his efforts on this occasion, with perhaps the most precious course record of all. ‘I managed to give Tyrrell something to think about down the stretch but he deserved it, and what a place to win again,’ he said.
If truth be told, any real chance of Hatton blowing his five-stroke overnight lead all but disappeared over the first five holes.
Fisher’s brilliant 61 set a new course record but it wasn’t enough to capture the trophy
After the tournament’s conclusion Fisher’s card was shared by the European Tour on Instagram
At the first we wondered how he would react after his approach finished in the Swilken Burn. In golf parlance, would the head come off, as it did at the British Masters a week earlier? His response this time was literally pitch perfect, as his delicate shot over the burn found the bottom of the hole for an unlikely par.
Hatton followed that moment of vulnerability with four straight birdies to extend his lead to seven strokes and, while Fisher made an astonishing run at him, he never got closer than arm’s length.
Hatton has shown plenty of character to return to the winner’s circle following a summer in which he lost his game completely.
From a position of 14th in the world he went on a desperate run, missing the cut in all four majors and five cuts in a row in July and August.
‘I wouldn’t say I was close to panicking at any point but I did hear too many opinions,’ he said.
Twenty-five-year-old Hatton celebrated his victory by kissing his girlfriend Emily Braisher
Braisher later helped her man lift the large trophy as Hatton celebrated his second win here
Since changing his caddie and appointing Jonathan Bell, a childhood friend and a pro himself, Hatton has finished third, eighth and now has the victory that completes his return to the game’s highest tier.
As for Bell, who earned £60,000 as his 10 per cent cut, he’s building up some useful funds in his bid to join Hatton on the European Tour one day. With plenty of big-money tournaments coming up and Hatton in this mood, he could have quite a war chest for his own quest come the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy’s penance for being among the back markers after 54 holes was to play the course the wrong way round.
Rather than finish his season in front of the Royal and Ancient clubhouse, he ended it in the boondocks at the ninth. He shot 72, one of only seven players among the 68 competing who failed to break par. ‘It was a round that summed up my year,’ said the ever-candid McIlroy. ‘Stuck in neutral and going nowhere.’
McIlroy will now have a three-month sabbatical to restore his health and reboot parts of his game. At least his ambition remains undimmed by this season’s problems.
‘My ultimate career goal remains to catch Gary Player’s total of nine majors and become the best non-American golfer of all time,’ said the four-time major winner.
Hatton also posed for a photograph with his mother, Karen, as he paraded his silverware
And caddie Jonathan Bell got his hands on the trophy too as reward for his contribution