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BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 23, 2017

Tyrrell Hatton

Surrey, England

BRIONY CARLYON: Welcome back to Wentworth. It's obviously a great time of the year for you and coming back to the first Rolex Series of the year, and also coming into this event as world No. 16, can you give us your thoughts on the week ahead?

TYRRELL HATTON: It's good to be back home. Three months away was a long time. But you know, this is my favourite event of the year, and hopefully I can have a good week.

BRIONY CARLYON: I know you got out on the course yesterday and you were able to see some of the changes. Your thoughts on the course and what you think will play out this week?

TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, I only played, I think it was about six or seven holes yesterday but the changes that I saw, they looked really good. The greens are a hundred times better, which, you know, is really good.

No, the course is playing pretty firm, as well, so that would be interesting. And the rough is certainly a lot thicker than I've seen it in the last three years.

Q. Just on the Manchester thing, what is the mood among the players? Chris Wood said that having a golf tournament seems a bit insignificant after what happened. What are your thoughts?
TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, obviously it's terrible news what's happened, and you know, heart goes out to families and obviously the victims. It's a terrible thing, and golf obviously isn't very important when things like that happen. It's obviously a sad day, and all the players will be down, as will everyone else be in a bit of shock, I'm sure.

Q. Just getting to your game, how do you reflect on your PGA TOUR experience? What are your thoughts on that?
TYRRELL HATTON: Well, I really enjoyed my time in the States. Got off to a really good start, which for me was good for confidence. Obviously I had not played -- well, I was pretty inexperienced on the PGA TOUR. To get off to that fast start and get my temporary membership up as fast as I did was good for me.

Sadly the last month didn't go too well, sort of from the Match Play onwards really after that incident. But you know, these things happen, and I'm much happier now I'm home. Hopefully I can play well this week and enjoy a bit of home time before the U.S. Open.

Q. The Masters this year, we both made our debut this year?
TYRRELL HATTON: Congratulations.

Q. My experience was good. Could you talk a little about that? You say this is your favourite tournament, which is great. But when you go to something like Augusta, how do you reflect on that tournament compared to the best tournament here in Europe? How does it work for you in your mind?
TYRRELL HATTON: Well, obviously the week of the Masters was amazing Sunday to Wednesday. And then the tournament got in the way. But this event for me is my favourite.

You know, I've grown upcoming to this event as a five-year-old watching the players, and then to now be inside the ropes is pretty special for me.

Obviously the majors is a slightly different ballgame, and it was a great experience to be at the Masters this year. And you know, I just -- I didn't actually play too badly. Conditions were really tough and I was probably a bit impatient at times where, you know, you have to wait for the gusts to go through, which the playing partners did; which when you just want to hit the ball can be frustrating, just waiting. That's something to learn from, and hopefully I can do better if I'm there next year.

Q. Did you have one of those sort of jaw-dropping moments looking around?
TYRRELL HATTON: I think when I got there on the Sunday and I went and played nine holes, there was no spectators. It was just sort of me and my caddie and the golf course, so it was quite nice to see it that way.

Obviously used to watching it on TV and the fairways are lined with people, and it looks amazing. It was a special atmosphere this week, of course. It was quite nice to see it, as well, in its true beauty, I guess.

Q. What would be your biggest takeaway from the three months in America that you think you can use to build going forward now?
TYRRELL HATTON: I think obviously doing well in the first few events, and just knowing that I can obviously compete on the PGA TOUR, as well. I think the golf courses are set up slightly different than they are over here, and obviously I was quite happy with how I adapted to those.

It's just a case of playing well. I felt pretty comfortable over there, which was nice.

Q. Chris Wood was just saying that he feels a bit frustrated; that's a fantastic crop of good young English players in the game right now, yourself, Fitzy, him, and you don't get the recognition you deserve in the press and the media. What's your take on that?
TYRRELL HATTON: I don't know. I certainly feel I've gone about my business fairly quietly, or slightly gone under the radar. Maybe surprised a few people. There's certainly a good group of young players coming through, which is really good for English golf, and hopefully we can all, you know, keep winning golf tournaments. And for me, it would be nice to climb even higher on the World Rankings.

Q. At this point, is it the No. 2, No. 3, tennis player from Britain gets a lot of attention, where the equivalent in golf doesn't get the same attention, is his frustration.
TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, possibly. It depends, I guess, the popularity of the sport, doesn't it. It's just one of those things. And all we can do is, you know, keep playing well and get ourselves into the positions and hopefully, well, get more attention for doing well on the golf course.

Q. Keith Pelley this morning talked about all the innovations that he's bringing to the Tour, the flag-waving and the music on the range and the GolfSixes, where there was all kinds of stuff going on, shot clocks and that type of stuff. Do you take part in those discussions? Do you want those things that happen? Are you happy the innovations are happy and is that something you embrace, as a player?
TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, I think so. I think it's definitely a good thing. The more people and the more kids you can get into golf, is only going to help the sport. I think GolfSixes went pretty well.

I watched a little bit of it on TV and it seemed like good fun. But I think when it came down to it on Sunday, it was still, you know, pretty serious. I think it was overall a successful tournament, and things like that is only going to help grow the game.

Q. So chest-bumping with Andy Sullivan is in your future then?
TYRRELL HATTON: Why not?

Q. You mentioned earlier that they set up the courses differently in the States and that sort of thing. Just wondering after having such a chunk over there, how much of an adjustment this week is for you?
TYRRELL HATTON: I think generally the greens are a bit firmer over there actually, and normally running quite fast, which will be pretty similar to this week.

And like I said earlier, the rough is actually really thick around the greens, so it's quite important to hit fairways, and if you are, if you do miss a few greens, you can get some pretty smelly lies, and that will make it interesting.

So I think this week's actually fairly similar to what I've been playing for the last sort of three months. I don't think it's too much of an adjustment this week, which is obviously a good thing, but I'd fancy my chances to get used to it pretty quickly if there was.

Q. Is there anything that can be done to get the top players to come the other way across the Atlantic, or does it just really come down to purses and prize money? Is that the only thing really that The European Tour can use to try and get things going both ways?
TYRRELL HATTON: It's hard to say. Obviously the Rolex Series this year, you know, big prize money and hopefully the guys come over, because for me, Europe in the summer is the best place to play.

So you've got a run of really good tournaments in the buildup to The Open, and hopefully the guys will come over and play and it will be well supported.

Q. Just wanted to check what your schedule is going to be for the rest of the summer now. And does it feel different coming back here as No. 16, one of the elite players in the world, one of the favourites?
TYRRELL HATTON: Outside of it is a little surreal, I guess, seeing the World Rankings and seeing my name as high as it is.

But in terms of -- I've completely forgot the question now. I'm sorry.

Q. Expectation here, and also your schedule.
TYRRELL HATTON: My schedule for the rest of the year, obviously playing this week, couple of weeks off, U.S. Open, I've got a week off straight after that and then it's French, Irish, Scottish, Open, and a week off and two weeks in the States for WGC and the US PGA and then I've got three weeks off, which will be nice. Sorry about that. Just woken up.

BRIONY CARLYON: Thanks, Tyrrell. Thank you for your time and good luck this week.

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