Tyrrell Hatton has secured his first English win and maiden PGA Tour title after his victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
English golfer Tyrrell Hatton captured his maiden PGA Tour title following a one-shot victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Bay Hill, Florida.
His two-stroke overnight lead at the start of the day disappeared in the first five holes after two bogeys on lightning-fast greens.
The 28-year-old also had a double bogey in a two-over 74 but finished four under, one ahead of 2017 winner Marc Leishman. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy, joint second at the start of the day, had two double bogeys in a 76 and was four back in fifth.
Hatton said: "It was such a tough day. After the double on 11 I thought I'd played my way out of it because I didn't see the scoreboard. That putt at 18 - I have never been so nervous. I won't ever forget this week."
After the first round, there were 44 players under par but only four remained by the end of the tournament.
Saturday's round had a scoring average of 75.91, the highest of any round at Bay Hill since 1983, with only one player under par. This was also the first non-major tournament not to have a round in the 60's since 2014.
On Sunday, the swirling winds and rock-hard putting surfaces proved to be challenging to the players, with Hatton dropping a shot on his opening hole after finding a fairway bunker.
McIlroy holed a fine putt from the edge of the green to drop only one shot at the fifth but at the next hole, thinned one out of a fairway bunker onto the rocks, tallying a double bogey to drop two shots off the lead.
English golfer Matthew Fitzpatrick posted the only sub-70 round of the weekend with four birdies in the first six holes. Despite a double bogey at the 17th, he returned a 69 to finish with a one over total and a share of ninth.
