Histrionic Tyrrell Hatton has no regrets after Desert Classic smash and grab | Golf

Sixty-eight strokes, two more at an innocent tee box and no end of chuntering. Welcome to another day in the life of Tyrrell Hatton. The Englishman begins day four at the Dubai Desert Classic a shot off the lead, held by Daniel Hillier on 13 under par.

Hatton’s shot for the par-three 7th drives 48 ft from the pin. His response involved two jabs with his club at a plastic tee marker – the first tame enough, the second decidedly not – with a hole left as a reminder. A fine will inevitably come, with Hatton spoken to by tournament officials after his round.

“Just a bit of frustration,” he said. “Probably shouldn’t have done that. Does that make me a bad person? No. It’s just a spur and it happened. I can’t go back and change it, so (I’m) moving on.

“I was told about it in the scoring. I don’t have a problem with what was said. I realize it’s not the right thing to do, but in the heat of the moment, when you’re frustrated, you just do things , which you probably wish you didn’t. I won’t let it bother me for the rest of the day. If that’s the worst thing I do as a person, I mean, it’s not that bad.”

This defense is unconvincing, not to mention melodramatic. No one is accusing Hatton of crimes other than golf. Instead, there needs to be a recognition that if everyone slammed course materials in anger, this sport would descend into anarchy. Hatton’s position means he is an example to young people; or he should be. Asked about chasing Hillier, Hatton said: “Hopefully I can be a bit more patient out there when I need to and still keep that fire because if I lose that then I’ll just be boring like everybody else.” Meow.

Hatton mumbled and groaned through most of the rest of his round. By itself, to be noticed, rather than anything or anyone else. He has plenty of previous too uninhibited behavior on the track, which was here reinforced by testing conditions. For some, it’s perfectly entertaining. Others believe that the Ryder Cup player regularly shows a lack of maturity. Laurie Canter, who partnered Hatton here on Saturday, is firmly in the former category.

“He’s great to play with,” Canter said. “In between takes, he’s a really good laugh. He laughs at himself. He is an incredible golfer, one of the best Europe has and he seems to be getting better every year. I love playing golf with him, I think he’s great.”

Hillier was in trouble with bogeys on the 13th, 14th and 15th but bounced back well. The New Zealander birdied the final two holes for a 70. Hillier arrived here as the world’s 223rd ranked player. “It would be life-changing,” he said of potential victory. “Last year was pretty tough, it was a bit of a thrill. I was getting pretty frustrated with myself towards the end of the year. I gave myself a little break and time to reset.”

Ewen Ferguson slipped to a 74 to follow Hillier by three. Canter is tied with Ryan Fox at minus nine. Rory McIlroy’s 69 means he is seven adrift. “My key tomorrow is if I can get off the start quicker and shoot three or four on the front then I have a chance,” said the defending champion.