Why Are Golf's Bad Boys Popular With Fans

View From The Fairway by Derek Clements

There is much to admire about Tyrrell Hatton. In his past four starts on the DP World Tour he has won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, finished second at the Abu Dhabi Championship, sixth at the DP World Tour Championship and won the Dubai Desert Classic.

To win in Dubai he had to see off a field that included Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, Patrick Reed and Jon Rahm.

He was also a stalwart for GB&I in their overwhelming victory over Continental Europe in the Team Cup. 

Hatton signed for LIV Golf last year, a decision that saw him being kicked off the PGA Tour and suspended by the DP World Tour. But he still wants to be a member of Europe’s Ryder Cup team. And to do that he needs to be playing in mainstream tournaments and earning world ranking points - something he cannot do with LIV.

So in order to have a chance of making Luke Donald’s team for the match against the USA at Bethpage Black he has taken advantage of a loophole. He had been suspended by the DP World Tour but has been able to appeal against both that and the fines he would have to play in order to rejoin the tour. 

Until that appeal is heard he is now free to play against the cream of Europe when his LIV schedule allows him to do so. No date has yet been set for the appeal but since it also involves Rahm it should surprise nobody at all if it is not heard until after the Ryder Cup takes place.

Hatton is a fierce competitor. He drives the ball superbly, is a masterful wedge player (one of the best in the world) and a terrific clutch putter. He is also a passionate European golfer.

But there is another side to Hatton.

During the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic he angrily smashed a tee marker after a wayward drive. He routinely swears out loud, slams clubs into the ground and moans to his caddie - and anybody else within earshot. No golfer elicits more apologies for his dreadful language than the Englishman. You can call me old-fashioned if you like but I happen to believe that there is no excuse whatsoever for foul language.

Obviously, he is not the only one. McIlroy, Fleetwood, MacIntyre, Shane Lowry et al are almost as bad.

Sergio Garcia built a career around bad behaviour. Tiger Woods has been fined for bad language more than any other player on the PGA Tour. Craig Stadler, Tom Weiskopf, Tommy Bolt and many others would have made your maiden aunt blush.

There are a couple of things about all of this that fascinate me.

Can anybody explain to me why it is that golf’s "bad boys" seem to be so popular with the fans? Hatton and others like him set a truly dreadful example. They know that children are watching them, either in the flesh or on TV. Swearing out loud is a conscious act, not something that happens by accident.

Garcia has spent most of his life throwing his toys out of the pram. He has damaged bunkers, he has damaged greens. He once even spat into a hole after missing a putt. He bemoans his luck on a regular basis. It’s like he feels the entire world is against him.

Despite all of the above, golf fans still love him and root for him? Answers on a postcard please because I haven’t the first clue.

The same applies to Hatton. To be frank, he just doesn’t seem to derive much pleasure from earning tens of millions of dollars. Don’t get me wrong - I know that Donald’s team will be far stronger with Hatton in it. And the paradox is that his temperament will probably actually ensure that he is ideally prepared to cope with the boisterous New York golf fans.

And here is another thing.

If you are a football fan who follows the Premier League then you will know that the huge legion of foreign players all swear at the ref in English. Why on earth is the F-word one of the first words they learn?

And the same applies to the likes of Rahm and Garcia. Their first language is Spanish so why do they swear out loud in English?

I watched Alejandro del Rey in deep conversation with his caddie at the weekend. Everything was in Spanish. He then tugged his approach way left. How did he react? "Oh f***!"

Trust me when I tell you that I am no prude. I was born and brought up on a council estate in Glasgow and spent my teenage years on the terraces at Ibrox stadium. I know all about bad language and I am as guilty as most of using it, but I know when and where to swear. I have NEVER sworn in front of my mother and I do not use the F-word on the golf course.

I hit many more poor shots than Hatton, Garcia, Rahm and company so if I can get through 18 holes without using the F-word, why can’t they?