Hatton loses strength then improves at the 2024 PGA Tour opener

Hawaiian Tyrrell Hatton felt tired when entering The Sentry tournament at the beginning of the 2024 PGA Tour season, but his performance after two rounds was positive - finishing T2 with a score of -15.

The Sentry takes place at the par-73 Plantation Course on Maui Island, Hawaii. It took Hatton nearly 26 hours to get there from London's Heathrow Airport to Los Angeles, where he then took a connecting flight to Maui.

"In Los Angeles, I waited three hours to board the plane. But when I got to the runway, the plane had technical problems. After 90 minutes of waiting, I had to get off and wait another 90 minutes to get on another flight. When I got there, I was exhausted. When I got to the course, my body was stiff," Hatton told Golf Channel after round 2 of The Sentry on January 5.

He had just eagled the 18th hole from 29.2 meters away.

Hatton eagled the 18th hole from 29.2 metres from the hole — Hatton eagled the 18th hole from 29.2 metres.

Thanks to that, Hatton jumped 23 places to T2 (-15), while the leading position belongs to world number one Scottie Scheffler at -16.

In addition to his eagle at the end of Round 2, Hatton had 10 birdies and one bogey. He achieved this result by hitting greens in par for 17 holes and putting 23 times despite his short, inaccurate drive – averaging just 285 yards, hitting just eight of 15 fairways.

"I was disgusted by this match. But I didn't expect to putt so well when I wasn't feeling well. When I started, I expected to score a positive round score," Hatton said. From the "over par" prediction, the British golfer scored -11 for round 2.

Hatton is 32 years old and has been playing golf professionally since 2011. To date, he has won six cups on the DP World Tour, Europe's top golf tournament. But on the PGA Tour, Hatton has only won once, at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Tyrrell Hatton adjusts his aim before putting on the green of the sixth hole of the second round of The Sentry at Plantation Golf Course in Kapalua, Hawaii on January 5. Photo: AFP

He will be in The Sentry 2024 by finishing in the top 50 of the 2022-2023 FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour. Previously, Maui was only open to the previous season's champions and was considered a "kick-off" event when held during the first week of the new year.

But from this session, the tournament will open the PGA Tour season with a schedule of matches in just one calendar year instead of combining two years as in the past decade.

The Sentry is a four-round, no-cut tournament that is a special tournament in the top tier of professional men’s golf in the United States. With that status, the prize fund is $20 million, of which the championship takes $3.6 million.

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