Hatton Slams Putter Into Dubai Green Days After Kennedy's Q School DQ

Tyrrell Hatton slammed his putter into the green at the DP World Tour Championship on Friday, and the timing is the story. Days earlier, 21-year-old Frank Kennedy was disqualified from Q School for doing the same kind of thing to a putting surface. Hatton is the co-leader at the $10 million season finale in Dubai. Kennedy lost his tour card. No discipline has been announced for Hatton.

What did Hatton do?

He took his frustration out on the green after a missed putt in the second round. Golf Digest reports it happened on the 10th, after Hatton came up short from about seven feet for par, and that he slammed his putter into the putting surface several times. EssentiallySports, citing the NUCLR GOLF clip that spread the incident, places it on the seventh green. The accounts differ on the hole, not on the act, and the video is unambiguous: a co-leader at the tour’s season finale, venting on the green. It was the second straight day Hatton had a viral putting moment. On Thursday he missed a three-foot putt on the 14th and stood in disbelief, pointing at the ball and looking at his caddie, a clip his playing partner Bernd Wiesberger shared with laughing emojis.

Why are fans calling it a double standard?

Because the comparison writes itself. Kennedy was disqualified from the Final Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School in Spain after missing a birdie putt on the 11th and swinging his putter into the green, gouging a roughly foot-long divot out of the putting surface. Officials ruled deliberate damage under Rule 1.2a for serious misconduct, Kennedy denied deliberate intent and said he repaired the mark at once, and the tour upheld the disqualification on appeal, ending his bid for a 2027 card. Fans watching Hatton’s slam asked the obvious question: if that act ends a 21-year-old’s season at Q School, what does it cost a star at the finale? The honest answer is that the two cases differ on the facts. Golf Digest notes Hatton clearly did not do any damage close to Kennedy’s, and EssentiallySports reports there is no indication Hatton damaged the green at all. Kennedy’s ruling rested on physical damage to the surface, not on the outburst alone, and Rule 1.2a gives the committee discretion rather than an automatic disqualification for every club slam. The comparison still stings, because the act on camera looks the same and the stakes run in opposite directions: Kennedy was fighting for a card in a 108-hole marathon, Hatton is co-leading a $10 million event.

Has Hatton done this before?

Yes, at the same event, which is why the patience is thin. At the 2024 DP World Tour Championship he was fined for breaching the code of conduct after snapping a club, swearing loudly and slamming his putter onto the green after a missed five-foot birdie putt. He was warned after smashing a tee marker at the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic, and he escaped serious punishment at the 2026 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after repeatedly slamming his club into the sand following a poor bunker shot. The pattern is well documented, and the fans calling for a penalty on Friday are counting the incidents, not just this one. Hatton returned to the DP World Tour this season after leaving LIV Golf, and his temper has followed him back.

Why are the greens the story of the week?

Because Hatton is not the only player losing patience with them. Wiesberger opened with a 75 on Thursday and posted on Instagram: “Average golf + tricky conditions + worst greens on tour we have had in a long time = 75.” Rory McIlroy, who shares the lead with Hatton, said much the same after his second-round 70. Asked whether lapses in concentration explained his mistakes, McIlroy said no, he had started to get frustrated with the golf course, adding that as it dries out the lies and fairways are not very good and the greens start to get bumpy. He called it the toughest the course has played in the 17 years he has been coming to it.

What happens next?

The golf comes first and the discipline question after it. Hatton and McIlroy share the 36-hole lead at five under, Hatton after a 69 and McIlroy after a 70, with the Race to Dubai title decided on Sunday. The tour has not confirmed any warning, fine or active disciplinary review, and any action would likely come through a post-tournament code-of-conduct review rather than a mid-round ruling. The tour’s handling of LIV’s remnants has already made this a season of hard choices about who gets what, and Hatton’s putter is now the test case for whether the standard Kennedy met at Q School applies at the top of the leaderboard too.