Tyrrell Hatton Earns Over $2.5m With Stunning Players Championship Back Nine

Scottie Scheffler claimed record prize money of $4.5m after cantering to victory in the Players Championship, but it was the man finishing behind him as runner-up whose Sunday afternoon efforts arguably offered a more eye-catching return.

Tyrrell Hatton never really threatened to claim the title ahead of the new World No.1 as he finished five shots off the lead. However, he was nowhere in sight as he approached the back nine during the final round at TPC Sawgrass, and stood outside the top 30.

That would have yielded projected earnings of $143,000 for the Englishman, but a stunning 29 over his last nine holes ensured his impressive second-place finish – and eventual earnings of $2.725m.

Hatton finished with five birdies to round off his extraordinary finish, which tied the tournament record for low back nine score. That was in contrast to a front nine that saw him par the first seven holes before a birdie-bogey 8 and 9 left him on an even-par 36 at the turn.

Hatton was understandably satisfied with how his day turned out, particularly after that low-key start. He said: ”Yeah, just a pretty mad two and a half hours in the end, I guess, from standing on the 10th tee. So really happy with how it's played out. Yeah, good day's work.”

The 31-year-old then admitted that while the incredible cash boost was welcome, it’s his standing in the FedEx Cup that he’s most interested in. He said: “Well, look, money's great, but like at the end of the day, I'm, what, 69th in the FedEx Cup. I made a comment at the start of this week that after being in the tournament at Bay Hill for as long as I was on Sunday, to only end up with 110 points was disappointing.

“Every year we're all trying to earn as many points as we can. This year's no different. I mean, I want to say, is this my sixth or - it might be my sixth counting FedEx event of the season. So I'm playing catch-up to a lot of guys that have played quite a bit of golf already.”

While Hatton has one eye on the bigger picture, that stunning back nine ensured he finished the tournament as one of five players to claim seven figure sums in the tournament. As well as Scheffler, Hatton joined Tom Hoge and Viktor Hovland, who each earned $1.475m, and Hideki Matsuyama, who claimed $1.025m from the record purse of $25m.