Tyrrell Hatton’s father Jeff sparked an on-air apology from Sky Sports after letting slip an expletive during coverage of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews. The elder Hatton teamed up with his son for the second consecutive year in the team event, having finished as runners-up 12 months previously. Fresh from his Ryder Cup triumph with Team Europe, Hatton has returned to British soil to defend the crown he claimed last year.
The Englishman boasts three victories at the tournament, securing back-to-back wins in 2016 and 2017 before claiming his third triumph the previous year. Hatton established the competition’s record score during his first victory before matching it again last year. However, his father endured a moment he’d rather forget during the opening round of this year’s event.
Just one hole after contributing an eagle on the par-three seventh to their team tally, Jeff, by his own admission, “farted” his tee shot on the eighth straight into the rough.
“F***”, he blurted out immediately afterwards before quickly offering his apologies. Sky Sports promptly issued an on-air apology after their course microphones captured the profanity.
This marked the second incident within minutes, following Robert MacIntyre’s own F-bomb after his tee shot found the rough on the ninth. Hatton Jnr is notorious for his occasional use of profanity, and it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as his father, Jeff, exhibits a similar penchant for colourful language on the golf course.
Sky Sports caught up with the LIV Golf player shortly after, but tactfully avoided mentioning his father’s slip of the tongue.
When asked about his experience since securing victory in the Ryder Cup for Europe, Hatton responded: “Well, this certainly brings you back to reality real quick! Last week was an incredible experience and amazing to be a part of the team, and to win an away Ryder Cup was what we all dreamed of, so, yeah, very special.
“I didn’t drink too much, so I was actually in a good headspace Monday morning, which is a good thing because I was then flying Monday night here; no one wants to travel hungover.”
The conversation then shifted to his father’s presence at Bethpage.
“He was on the back of the 18th green, so all my family were there, my mum, my sister, Emily – my wife. It was cool to see them; just amazing.”
In a separate interview, Hatton also shared some heartfelt words about his father.
“Last year, it was the first time I had actually won a tournament with my dad here,” he said. “So that was really special, and he had a front row seat, which is pretty cool.
“He’s been my coach since I was basically ten years old. So we’ve achieved a lot together, and that’s really special.”