Golf | England’s Hatton wins Italian Open for second straight title

Tyrrell Hatton, of Britain, hits the ball during the 74th Italy Open Golf tournament in Monza

Tyrrell Hatton sunk a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the Italian Open yesterday [Macau time] for his second European Tour victory in two weeks.

Last week, Hatton retained his title at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the storied Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland.

Now the Englishman is up to fifth in the Race to Dubai rankings.

It looked like Hatton was heading for a three-man playoff before he rolled his final putt into the bottom of the cup and unleashed a series of fist pumps to celebrate the Rolex Series victory.

“I had a good feeling standing over it, even though my hands were shaking and my knees were shaking,” Hatton said.

A day after celebrating his 26th birthday, Hatton birdied five of the last seven holes for a bogey-free 65 to finish at 21 under.

“It was a battle with myself today,” said Hatton, who had a slow front nine. “But my caddie kept saying it would come in the end and it did. […] I got a hot streak with the putter, which helps a lot.”

Fellow Englishman Ross Fisher and Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand tied for second, one stroke behind, while third-round leader Matt Wallace finished fourth at 19 under.

Defending champion and home favorite Francesco Molinari finished in a tie for sixth.

Hatton took home a first-
place check of around USD1.1 million, the biggest prize in an increased purse of $7 million this year as part of the buildup to the 2022 Ryder Cup outside Rome.

Crowds were large throughout the week at the Golf Club Milano, next to Monza’s Formula One circuit. AP