Tyrrell Hatton’s tempestuous relationship with the Masters has continued after he criticized rules officials and a group of players, including former champion Patrick Reed, for “brutal” slow play.
Hatton will make the cut at Augusta National, which is a bit of a surprise. Two years ago he criticized the venue for being ‘unfair’. Now the Englishman is angry about the pace of play and the lack of action from the Masters officials.
Reed, Im Sung-jae and Kurt Kitayama were in the group ahead of Hatton, Matthieu Pavon and Keegan Bradley for the first two rounds. Hatton’s group routinely waited for shots after returning to complete their first round Friday morning.
“The guys up front were so slow,” Hatton said. “It’s pretty poor of the officials that it took 32 holes to put them on the clock. Yesterday they lost a hole and a half, they were no better even this morning and for the second round they were just brutal.
“Great for them; they don’t wait for any shot to hit them. But for us, we were on the fairway, we were on the tee. It was very difficult to find rhythm, so it was disappointing that it took 32 holes for an official to go, ‘Oh, we put the group at the front on the clock.’”
When that happens, players are warned that they will be penalized with shots if the slow play continues. Hatton added: “I said to someone walking down to the 8th, we were waiting to get our second shots, and they’re still putting the fire out. The boys in front of them knocked off 10. It’s a small field. It’s not difficult to really keep up with the group at the front. I understand if you’ve had a tough hole, but when it’s every hole it’s a little more frustrating.
after newsletter promotion
Rounds of 72 and 74 allowed Hatton to survive the weekend. He didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about that. “The score is as bad as it can be, I think,” he said. “The last two days you can hit a great shot, you get a gust of wind and all of a sudden it ends up in a spot where it probably wouldn’t have happened. These two days don’t give you an honest picture of how you played.’