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MASTERS TOURNAMENTNovember 10, 2020Tyrrell HattonAugusta, Georgia THE MODERATOR: Good morning, it's our pleasure to have Tyrrell Hatton in the interview room this morning. Thank you for your time, and welcome to the press building. You've had quite a 2020 thus far with five Top‑10 finishes in addition to your first PGA victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. In addition to that, you recently just added, I believe, your fifth European Tour win. How would you describe the state of your game right now? TYRRELL HATTON: Yes, I mean, for me, 2020 on the golf course has been a very special year. I think this is‑‑ coming into a major, this is the best form that I've had. And you kind of just have to see how‑‑ how we get on this week. Obviously it's a place that I haven't actually done too well at in the past, although I do like the golf course. Just kind of the week hasn't fallen right for me. You know, excited to see how I can get on this week. THE MODERATOR: This is your fourth Masters. What have you learned over the last three times that you've been here, and how will that change the way that you attack the course this week? TYRRELL HATTON: I won't change how I'll try and play. I would say like I'm a fairly aggressive player. I think the previous years for me, my short game hasn't been very good, and normally putting is a strength for me. I've putted pretty horribly, which, you know, that's disappointing. But again, like that was certainly last week, I feel like that was a pretty good strength. And so I've got confidence there and hoping that I can bring that into this week. Q. Why are you playing so well? What has been the biggest difference‑maker? TYRRELL HATTON: It's kind of a hard question to answer. I mean, I've said this before, like you're trying your best every single week, and you look at everyone's careers throughout years, they have just had some years better than others for whatever reasons. I think one of the biggest things for me this year is I've been pain‑free the whole year after the wrist surgery. After last year, that's been a huge thing for me. I've been training in the gym this year, which is something I've not done for this amount of time previously. So, you know, who knows if that's kind of playing a part, as well (shrugging shoulders). But yeah, obviously I'm kind of very happy with how things have gone so far, aside from missed the cut in both majors. Q. Going back to what have you learned. If you were back home and someone recognized you and realized you had played in the Masters three times and asked you what are some of the coolest traditions, A, what would come to mind, and B, what are you missing this week? TYRRELL HATTON: I think it's pretty cool, like the start of the tournament Thursday morning when those guys are teeing off. I think that's a pretty cool tradition. Kind of it's hard to, it would be hard to explain to guys about this place. It's obviously very special. Q. So the question came up when you're playing the 16th this week, will you bother trying to skip one over the pond? Will you skip one over the pond when you get to 16, or is that an entertainment act? TYRRELL HATTON: I wouldn't do it in the practice rounds, I don't think. It's normally a good laugh when you've got the grandstand there on the left‑hand side and they are all shouting, "Skip," as you're kind of walking off the tee. I don't think it will quite have the same effect if Mick is asking me to do it. I think we'll leave that one for next April, hoping that, obviously, we'll have fans here again. Q. You talked a little about the putting. What have you identified in the putting, and what are the types of things you're doing to sort it out? TYRRELL HATTON: Well, putting normally, I kind of only work on start line. I've got like a putting gate that I will use, and actually, if I'm honest, I haven't used it for like a month now. Just maybe a little bit of laziness and stuff. I think being back in the U.K., it was harder to work on your putting than when I've been out in the States and stuff like that. But that would be the only thing that I would try and do. I feel like that's the most important thing. But at the same time, I feel like I've actually been hitting the lines I want to hit, so when you kind of are doing that, I don't see‑‑ I don't feel like I need to waste‑‑ not waste my time, but I don't need to just stand on the putting green for an hour and just keep hitting putts through. If I'm happy with stuff, then I won't‑‑ I guess, I won't put too much time in and I'd rather be out on the golf course playing, anyway. Q. This is your fourth Masters appearance, but it's under unique circumstances. What is the biggest difference between being here in April and November? TYRRELL HATTON: Well, I haven't actually been out on the golf course yet, so I don't know if it's playing any different. I can't imagine it will. I think they are able to set it up however they want to here. The biggest thing will be is there will be obviously no atmosphere. We're missing fans this week. But at the same time, you know exactly what you're playing for, and you just have to go out there and give it your best still. Q. You can be famously hard on yourself. Do you think that's hurt you here, or maybe in the other majors this year? TYRRELL HATTON: Yes, I can be hard on myself. I think going back to what I said earlier about it, it's just golf. I don't try to treat the majors any differently to‑‑ in terms of adding pressure to myself in terms when I play regular PGA TOUR events, The European Tour events, I kind of just go into them the same, just obviously trying to play well and see‑‑ try and shoot the lowest score that I can. So I think if I can keep myself as fairly calm and in a good place, where, you know, I'm comfortable, then there's no reason why I can't go have a good week here. At the same time I'm well aware that the majors haven't been great this year. But it just is what it is. Q. 7th last week looks pretty good, but are you at the stage now where you're slightly disappointed by that, that it wasn't even better, or are you happy with it? TYRRELL HATTON: I don't think you can often be disappointed with tied 7th, when you're‑‑ I think I was 38th going into the weekend. I'm very happy with how I played last week. At the start of the week, I really wasn't‑‑ I didn't enjoy the golf course. I actually think the course kind of grew on me throughout week. And previously, in years gone by, if I didn't like the golf course, I probably would have just lost my head and lost focus. I think I'd say the draw obviously helped me last week, obviously playing with DJ and Adam Scott. Playing with those guys, obviously you don't want to start hacking it around, and you still kind of have to‑‑ you've got to be professional. Yeah, so I think naturally, I was like a bit more focussed in that sense. Aside from‑‑ I think I made triple in round one near the end the round, it didn't really brother bother me. It wasn't like the wheels come off kind of thing. I'm very happy how I played the rest of the week, especially over the weekend when I think I only dropped one shot, which around that golf course is a good effort. I think if they are able to overseed that place, I think if they have it the week before the Masters, probably be 2022 now if that happens, it will certainly be a good test in that all the greens are like upside‑down bowls and just run‑offs everywhere, and certainly test your short game. Q. One of the things you might not have seen is that on the Masters shop online, they are selling Masters hoodies. I wonder if that has caught your attention, whether you, in particular, might be tempted to take home a suitcase full? TYRRELL HATTON: I haven't looked online yet, but I'm sure they will be‑‑ it's always nice to pick up souvenirs and stuff for the year. But you can see, I'm wearing one today, so yeah, I'll wear it throughout week if the weather's kind of cool enough to do so, but yeah. Q. I was just wondering if there's a specific swing thought or swing key that you find yourself going back to a lot, you find yourself working on a lot and maybe that you might be bringing into this week? TYRRELL HATTON: With my dad, we really haven't changed my swing since I was like 14. We've always looked at kind of two key points of the swing, where it's like a quarter of the way or halfway back and then at the top of the backswing. So just kind of keeping the check on those positions. We know generally, for me, my downswing has been like very consistent. It's just if I can get it in the right positions I need to on the backswing, then along with obviously good rhythm, we should be fine. So yeah, it's just the two checkpoints that I might look at on video. But I'd only look at them if I feel like not hitting it very well or you kind of are searching for something a little bit. But I feel like the swing's in a good place. We wouldn't finish inside the Top‑10 on the PGA TOUR the previous week if it wasn't. So yeah, I just need to go out there and obviously see the golf course today and tomorrow and get comfortable, get used to the speed of the greens. The grass is obviously very different from what we played on last week, so just work on short game and stuff like that and just be ready for Thursday. Q. And when those get off, what is the tendency? Does the club go too far inside or outside? TYRRELL HATTON: For me, normally the club is too far outside. And then I've always had high hands, so at the top of my backswing, it would be like too steep, and that's where sort of issues will kind of arise from there. Q. You have talked this year about how linking up with your caddie, Mick, has helped you. How much can his experience help you this week, and what do you like most about him as a person? TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, I think his experience is very important. He's certainly been around here a lot more times than I have. I know he hasn't been here for a couple of years and he's excited to be back. My favorite thing about Mick‑‑ I think we get on so well, and I think that's so important when you spend as much time with a caddie. You have to get on well. He's always pretty good at kind of making me laugh, which at times I definitely need that. Q. You spoke about having such a great attitude the week of Wentworth when you won. When you think back on that, is that feeling hard to recapture, to replicate? TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, I think so. As like we're all humans, our emotions change from day‑to‑day. I think for me at Wentworth, the two weeks that I had at home prior to that was massive. Obviously I had been away for eight and a half months, so to actually be in my own house, my own bed again, was great. I just felt happy. It was, I'd say, similar feeling for me at Bay Hill. I was just pretty comfortable. We stayed in the house that we've rented at Lake Nona for the last couple of years, and we had‑‑ that week, had a few people in the house, which was nice. I think‑‑ then there's been‑‑ there's been other weeks where I've been a bit more highly strung. I'll use Vegas as an example where I wasn't feeling that great. I had a head cold and jet‑lag and stuff from traveling over there. Naturally, just going to be more irritated, although still had a good week. I was pretty frustrated at times, and especially on the Saturday, and the Saturday was probably the worst‑‑ the worst round I had that week. So, hopefully, I'm hoping that I can be in a good place this week. I feel fine at the moment, and I'm sure that will definitely help. Q. Where are you staying this week? I don't need the address, I'm just curious if it's somewhere similar to what you've done? TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, we are in a house this week about 20 minutes away. It should be‑‑ it should be good fun. We have got a nice little pool and a hot tub, so no doubt I'll be relaxing in there after rounds and stuff. We actually rented the house in 2018, so it's quite nice kind of going back to something that feels familiar. I just hope that my manager doesn't leave a knife in the oven this year and melt it. Q. He did that last year? TYRRELL HATTON: Two years ago, yeah. A little awkward note at the end of the week, sorry about the knife. We found the knife set on Amazon, so we left the money for a new knife set. Q. You mentioned the emotions of winning and different levels of confidence it brings. Did winning here at Bay Hill in March make you feel any differently as a player? TYRRELL HATTON: Say again? Q. You get different emotions, I guess, from winning. You've won around the world, but did winning on this tour and winning at Bay Hill, a place like that, make you feel differently as a player? TYRRELL HATTON: I don't think I felt different. I think it was very special to win at Bay Hill, obviously an iconic venue, and for my first win on the PGA TOUR, that's like a milestone in your career. Been fortunate now to win five times in Europe, and yeah, I've played over here on the PGA TOUR, I think this is the start of my fourth season. So I'm hoping that I can add more trophies over here, and obviously I'll be trying my best to do so. But I think winning on both sides, you have that confidence. If you play well, you're going to give yourself chances, and going into Sunday, if I have a chance to win a tournament, I obviously take confidence from the fact that I've been able to get over the line before, and it's not a new feeling for me or a new experience. I think every player takes confidence from that, knowing that they have won in the past. THE MODERATOR: Thank you for your time this morning and best of luck this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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