Tyrrell Hatton surges past Rory McIlroy to win Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

Englishman carded a brilliant closing 66 to clinch a sixth European Tour title

Phil Casey
Sunday 24 January 2021 15:03 GMT
Comments
Tyrrell Hatton celebrates with the trophy
Tyrrell Hatton celebrates with the trophy (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Tyrrell Hatton produced a brilliant final round to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship as Rory McIlroy missed out on the title once again.

Hatton carded a closing 66 to finish 18 under par and secure a sixth European Tour title and fourth in the lucrative Rolex Series, a victory which will go a long way towards securing a second Ryder Cup appearance in September.

Australia's Jason Scrivener recorded an eagle and five birdies in a back nine of 29 to claim second place on 14 under, with McIlroy a shot further back following a disappointing 72.

READ MORE: Too late for golf to wash its hands of Trump

McIlroy took a one-shot advantage into the final round and doubled his lead thanks to birdies on the second and third, but three-putted the fourth and also dropped a shot on the par-five eighth following a poor drive.

Playing partner Hatton matched McIlroy's birdie on the second and also picked up shots on the seventh and ninth to reach the turn with a two-shot lead.

McIlroy looked certain to close the gap when he found the par-five 10th in two, inches closer to the hole than Hatton was in three, but Hatton holed from 35 feet for an unlikely birdie and McIlroy two-putted for his.

A bogey on the 11th dropped McIlroy further off the pace and Hatton made certain of victory with birdies on the 13th and 16th.

McIlroy now has four second-place finishes, four thirds and a fifth in his last 10 starts in Abu Dhabi, but will be disappointed at failing to claim his first win since November 2019, especially after starting with a superb 64.

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in