hats off to hatton
Tyrrell Hatton responds to ‘vile’ criticism with kindness (and no middle finger)
Andrew Redington
Despite finishing T-6 at the Scottish Open, the lasting image of Tyrrell Hatton from The Renaissance Club was the golfer with his middle finger up after a third-round bogey on 18. Hatton is many things—a tremendous athlete and an intense course critic—but he’s certainly not shy about his emotions.
Along with throwing the bird at The Renaissance Club, Hatton had quite a few outbursts. The broadcast was muted for many of them, but the expletives were still readable, especially as he unraveled on the back nine on Saturday. Individuals on social media, as always, had some thoughts.
“We all get upset about our #golf but I am finding @TyrrellHatton more & more vile to watch,” tweeted Stuart Hill, a self-described golf pro. His language & putting his middle finger 🖕 up on 18 today was an awful example to all youngsters watching. Get your act together man! #ScottishOpen @DPWorldTour massive fines or suspension.”
Hill went on in a follow-up post stating that Hatton’s three-putt on 18 was “retribution for his antics and strangely satisfying.” Like most tweets, this received support from fellow pearl-clutchers and counter-arguments from those fine with Hatton’s demeanor. Then Hatton himself weighed in.
“Different day, different angle, same pose, no middle finger. Have a good week 👍🏻.” That’s some response from the No. 16 golfer in the world.
This is one of the first instances in which someone gave a metaphorical middle finger through kindness. The photo itself is a great retort as well. Eyes closed, ignoring the haters. The man’s playing some great golf heading into the Open Championship, but even more importantly, his social media game is as strong as ever.