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Can Tyrrell Hatton shake off Ryder Cup defeat and win a third Alfred Dunhill Links Championship?

Tyrrell Hatton with the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship trophy

The Englishman had a tough time at Whistling Straits but this week’s tournament in Scotland is one of his favourites on the calendar.

It's fair to say that things didn't work out well for Tyrrell Hatton in the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits last week.

The Englishman was part of a record-breaking loss as Team USA handed out a 19-9 shellacking to the Europeans.

On a personal level, he won just one of his four matches although Hatton's haul of 1.5pts was actually the third best on Padraig Harrington's team.

The high was his brilliant birdie at the last which secured a half point alongside Jon Rahm in their Friday fourballs match against Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler.

At the time, a delighted and smiling Hatton said: "A very special moment. Obviously standing over that, I know it's a massive putt and it's going to help the team, and I was just... I didn't hole any putts today. I just had to trust that one, and hit it left lip and made sure I hit a good putt.

"Thankfully I managed to do that. It went in and just an amazing feeling. Obviously you could see the emotion there at the end. It was huge for the team, and hopefully that turns the momentum our way now."
Let's just say it didn't.

Hatton lost his Saturday morning foursomes with Paul Casey and also suffered a heavy 4&3 loss to Justin Thomas in the singles.

His one victory came in Saturday's fourballs when the brilliance of Shane Lowry helped the Euro pair beat Tony Finau and Harris English 1up.

Speaking after that, Hatton said: "It's a blur for me today to be honest. I didn't have any good stuff unfortunately this morning (with Casey) and I was struggling during a lot of that front nine.
"Obviously Shane kept us in it. I played a little bit better on the back nine, and you know, a massive putt on the last for Shane to hole and a massive point for Team Europe."
In normal circumstances, it would seem foolish to back Hatton to perform well this week given his long, emotional and dispiriting Ryder Cup experience.

And yet, if there's one event where he might be able to shake it off it's this one - the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.

Hatton's last four starts in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

2016 - WINNER! (67-70-62-66)
2017 - WINNER! (68-65-65-66)
2018 - 2nd (70-66-66-62)
2019 15th - (66-68-67-70)
To par in those four years: 78-under!

Hatton Alfred Dunhill Links quotes

On why he likes the event so much: "It's definitely more relaxed than other weeks, which I guess helps me."
On why he plays so well: "I'm comfortable on links courses. The setup is easier this week than other weeks that we play. I guess you can get away with the odd bad shot. And I guess this time of year, I play well, so it's always at a good time for me."
On St. Andrews: "It's a special place. It's got a certain feeling about it, standing on that first tee. You hope you don't miss the fairway. It's just great to be back. It's the Home of Golf, and we get to play two other great courses, as well."

Performance after a Ryder Cup

Hatton played in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship a week after contesting the 2018 Ryder Cup.
And despite his busy week in France, he came so close to winning the event for a third straight year, eventually settling for second place.
Asked about the fatigue factor that week, he said: "The only day that was a struggle was Monday. After that, we're fresh as a daisy. It's no struggle. We're used to playing three, four weeks in a row, so this is only my second tournament.
"It's not a case of feeling tired. Although last week was a busy week, I feel fine."

But how different will it be this week when he's travelling back from America on the back of a morale-sapping defeat rather than making a short hop from France and enjoying the high of victory?

To try and help answer the first bit, it's worth looking how he performs when returning to Europe from the States
That's a legitimate question to ask but it seems that Hatton schedules his events rather cleverly.
Why? There are no previous instances of him playing in America and then teeing it up in Europe the following week.

Conclusion

This is a tough puzzle to solve.
Hatton must clearly be on a downer. But perhaps this is the perfect event - a pro-am in relaxed surroundings on easy courses where he's thrived before - for him to bounce back.

There should also be some fuel in the tank given that, pre-Ryder Cup, he'd played in only one event since The Northern Trust finished on August 22.

If Hatton can take victory and shake off the Whistling Straits hammering, it will be a massive tick in the box marked mental strength.

READ MORE: Can defending champion Sergio Garcia ride the Ryder Cup wave at the Sanderson Farms Championship?

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