Anyone who's watched golf over the past decade knows that Tyrrell Hatton has never been one to mask his emotions ― especially the not-so-good emotions.
The fiery Englishman drew backlash on social media Friday as a clip circulated showing him slamming his putter onto the seventh green at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai during the second round of the 2026 DP World Tour Championship.
🚨🏌️⛏️ #WATCH — DPWT Championship co-leader Tyrrell Hatton was not happy following a missed putt on the 7th green in round 2 😧
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) November 13, 2026
Should Tyrrell be penalized? pic.twitter.com/VIROuUfyrh
Judging from the television clip, it didn't appear that Hatton caused any damage to the turf, but he clearly drops the heel of his putter onto the green twice before seemingly tamping down
the spot with the back of his flatstick. Many social media commenters were calling for Hatton to be punished, but tournament officials evidently did not feel that his actions warranted that, as he ended up tapping in for par and was never assessed any sort of penalty.
But again, anyone who's followed Hatton's career knows that he often unleashes his frustration even when he's playing well, and that's the case this week in Dubai. Hatton posted a 2-under 70 in the opening round and followed it up with a 69 Friday to enter the weekend at 5 under, tied for the lead with Rory McIlroy.
“Overall it was pretty solid,” Hatton said. "A couple of really poor tee shots ... just, yeah, weird shots. Actually struggled with a couple of those in round one in Abu Dhabi last week. So, yeah, weird to see that that kind of crept in. Made me feel a little bit uncomfortable with driver for the rest of the round, to be honest.”
Hatton has carded 10 birdies in his first 36 holes in Dubai, but he knows he'll need more if he wants to outpace McIlroy, who's won this event three times.
"[McIlroy] has an amazing record around this golf course. It just sets up pretty well for him," Hatton said. "I'm happy enough with where I'm placed after two rounds. Hopefully I can play better over the weekend and give myself more birdie opportunities.”
Hatton and McIlroy will tee off in the final pairing for the third round at 12:40 p.m. local time in Dubai, which is 3:40 a.m. ET Saturday in the U.S.
Nick Stavas is a digital producer and commerce writer for Golfweek. Follow him on X/Twitter (@nickstavas).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Tyrrell Hatton draws social media backlash for putter slam but shares lead in Dubai
