2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational: Top 10 power rankings at Bay Hill
Your defending champion Tyrrell Hatton is playing the caliber of golf that leads me to think he won’t be a one-hit wonder in the U.S. The Englishman is comfortably inside the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings thanks in part to his maiden PGA Tour win at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Hatton grinded through high winds and a challenging Bay Hill setup to win at 4-under-par, the second highest score in relation to par in tournament history and the highest since 1983.
He resides in the Orlando area, which seems to be a big boost.
“…we feel very comfortable here and that’s why we have kind of made it our second home,” Hatton was transcribed by ASAP Sports in 2020. “And to, I guess to have your own, to sleep in your own bed on a tournament week is something that we don’t get to experience too often. And home comforts, I think maybe helped keep me a little bit more relaxed as well.”
Hatton is known to let his emotions get the better of him, particularly when things are going south. He got off to a fast start in his 2020 API win with 68-69 and steered it home for a one-shot victory.
Iron play has added importance this week. Hatton is a top-notch ball striker and ranked third in last year’s field in strokes gained approach (7.268 total).
He’s made all four cuts at Bay Hill and debuted with a T-4th (6 finish in 2017.
The 29 year old ranks 25th on the PGA Tour in SG off the tee (.402 per round) and 11th in SG approach (.876). Not to mention, he’s first in sand saves (70%) and 10th in approach from 200-plus yards (43’9”).
Since his API win, Hatton picked up two wins on the European Tour against high quality fields at the BMW PGA Championship and Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
His Abu Dhabi win came early this year and was continued with T-22nd in Dubai and T-6th in Saudi Arabia.
Hatton teed it up on American soil for the first time in 2021 at the WGC-Workday Championship. He fired three under-par rounds on the way to T-22nd, which is a pretty good result at a place like The Concession for a player like Hatton whose short game isn’t his calling card.