'What's He Thinking?' - Hatton Criticised After Hitting Green With Putter

Tyrrell Hatton cut a frustrated figure on day one at the PGA Championship and was heavily criticised on social media after he appeared to bash his putter into one of the greens at Southern Hills Country Club.

Dame Laura Davies was unimpressed with Hatton's behaviour, saying whilst on commentary for Sky Sports: "He's made a bit of a mess on that green, that's not good. What's he thinking?"

A fan clip was posted on Twitter of the incident, captioned "Very poor behaviour."

Another user wrote: "Watched this earlier with Harry my son how do I explain the behaviour to a 10 year old who loves the sport? He was gobsmacked!"

Another commented on a similar note, asking: "Is this the example we set to younger players??"

WATCH THE CLIP:

The World No.24 posted a level par round of 70 on day one, carding three birdies and three bogeys to sit five back of leader Rory McIlroy after 18 holes.

The six-time DP World Tour winner and 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational champion has recorded two top 10s in the PGA Championship from seven starts.

Prior to the week, Hatton said he hoped to have a good week on the greens and said holing putts helps him be a "a little bit calmer on the golf course."

"Obviously I haven't performed particularly well in Majors over my short career so far, but in the few that I have actually registered some top 10s, I've generally putted quite nicely, which is typically a strength for me," he said.

"So it would be nice to obviously have a good week on the greens. Even if you're playing bad, you're still going to give yourself opportunities for birdies. If you can roll a few of them in, it feels like you get a bit of momentum going even if your swing doesn't feel particularly great. 

"Yeah, me holing putts is a massive part of the week, as it is for other guys, too, but I think that helps me be a little bit calmer on the golf course if I can actually hole putts."