ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL

March 6, 2022

Tyrrell Hatton

Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Quick Quotes

Q. Is a day like today more draining physically or mentally?

TYRRELL HATTON: No, I think I was at nine more shots yesterday, so I'd say that's more draining. Obviously, when you're kind of coming down the stretch, you know you're getting closer to the lead, and you see cameras start appearing so you know you're doing something right.

It was nice to have that feeling, a little bit of a buzz there. Really happy with how I played on the back nine.

Q. Having won this before and won it in tough conditions when you did, did that help you out there today knowing how to play this golf course in these type of conditions?

TYRRELL HATTON: Well, obviously, very fortunate to win this tournament two years ago when it was again really, really tough. But I just went out there and tried my best.

I had to hold over 120-feet putts today, which is surprising to hear. I know I putted well, but you're putting so defensively, you're trying to just cozy up to the hole. So they aren't too stressful to knock them in if they miss, and generally I feel like I did a good job of that.

Q. After such a frustrating round yesterday, how do you arrive today? What was kind of your mindset as you got back to Bay Hill trying to recover from yesterday?

TYRRELL HATTON: Like I said, after Friday's round, I feel like I didn't hit the ball that well, and I just got away with where my miss is. I was lucky where my miss is. Yesterday, I didn't play well again. It was tough conditions, but my misses always seemed to end up in a bad spot. So we just had a tough day.

Had a shocking warmup this morning before going out for today's round. Luckily enough, I don't know what I found, but just started hitting the ball good again. I played really good, and I'm very happy with that.

Q. Shocking warmup in what way?

TYRRELL HATTON: Well, I actually -- with the second driver I hit, I think I missed the 9th fairway left from the driving range. I didn't shout fore out of pure embarrassment that no one on a driving range should ever have to shout fore. That kind of shows you how bad it was. Luckily, we didn't have too many wides out there on the golf course. Maybe I was a bit more focused out there.

Q. How did you turn it around so quickly?

TYRRELL HATTON: Just tried to go out there and have one simple feeling, one thought, which is just focusing on my weight, making sure the weight was in the middle of my foot on the backswing. Sometimes I go too far into my toes. Naturally, I always move forward in my backswing, and if I can kind of keep my weight more centered, then I'm more likely to strike the ball a bit better.

I kind of just went out there with that thought. Today it worked. Some days it does. Some days it doesn't.

Q. How did you deal with the frustration of how you played yesterday after the round?

TYRRELL HATTON: Went back to Nona, had a couple of beers, had a nice juicy burger with the stuff that athletes eat and drink, and just had a nice evening with my wife and my team.

Q. So you were able to just let it go?

TYRRELL HATTON: I mean, yeah, I was disappointed, but I can't do anything about it once I get home. You just have to switch off and enjoy the company of the team I have in the house. My dad got in last night as well with his girlfriend. So, yeah, we just had a nice evening together.

Q. Tyrrell, I think you're the third round in the 60s now in three years on Sunday at Bay Hill. What do you think that says about the course, and what do you think of that kind of a test coming down the stretch?

TYRRELL HATTON: We know the weekends are pretty brutal here. I think the greens get so quick sometimes, pin positions just seem brutal. And it's just, like I said, you have to play defensively and try your best to get the ball as close as you can. When you're putting, if you do miss, you don't want it too far away on the next one. So I guess I feel like I've done a good job of that.

Q. What was an unlucky moment yesterday?

TYRRELL HATTON: Well, I plugged in four bunkers this week. You can say they're a hazard and you shouldn't be hitting in them, but typically there's not many courses we play throughout the year where it plugs as consistently as it has this week. I don't know why that is. Even some of the shots I've hit in there have been coming in low and hot, and they've still plugged whereas normally you'd expect them to, on those ones, they'd hit and probably release out a little bit.

The ones that you spin up into the wind, yeah, they've got more chance of plugging, but there's been a few that have been a bit surprising. I guess you could say that's bad luck, but at the same time, you shouldn't be hitting them in those bunkers.

Q. What are you going to do in your down time?

TYRRELL HATTON: I'm going to sit in the locker room. They've got a few TVs in there. Enjoy a little bit of that and see how it plays out. Obviously, the guys ahead of me on the leaderboard, world class players who won many events between them.

My job's done. I'll just sit back and wait, see what happens, and we'll go from there.

Q. What was the club on 16, second shot?

TYRRELL HATTON: 4-iron. I turned to Mick, and I said even I enjoyed that one. Yeah, I was very happy with that.