Tyrrell Hatton hopes putting prowess can bring Open glory

Tyrrell Hatton believes success on the greens could be the key to claiming a maiden Major as he aims for a third victory at St Andrews at The 150th Open Championship.

The Englishman is something of an expert around the Old Course, having won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2016 and 2017 and finished second in 2018.

He made his Major debut at the Home of Golf in 2010 but missed the cut, suffering the same fate in 2015, but has clearly got to grips with the course since.

And after firing a bogey-free 66 on day two to get to eight under, he was in little doubt over what was the key.

"When you win, you putt really well," he said. "So although the pin positions are very different, I feel like I read the greens pretty well around here. 

"For some reason it kind of visually suits my eye compared to other courses. But everyone kind of will experience that.

"So I think that's the big thing for me, if I can hole putts this weekend, if my pace is a little bit better than it was today on the mid-range putts, then we can do well.

"I think the fact that I'm here for the weekend is a nice thing. My two previous Opens here, we were obviously going home early. So it's nice to walk up 18 and not have to worry about that.

"A nice birdie on six got my momentum going and we had a good stretch there, making a few birdies. So pretty happy with that and hoping I can have a good weekend now."

The Pro-Am format of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the fact it is played in the autumn makes the Old Course a very different proposition for that event, and Hatton was refusing to get carried away with his lofty halfway position.

"There's still a lot of golf left to play," he said. "Although I've won around here in the past, the golf course is very different to how we play in October. Also the pin positions are a lot tighter.

"But we'll see. If I play good golf then, sure, we'll have a chance, but it's definitely not a time to get ahead of ourselves."