Tyrrell Hatton may wish he was taller, but he is top ‘baller’ in API field

Among the headliners for this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational are Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland and Jordan Spieth.

None of those players, though, can claim the title of top-ranked player in the field. That would be world No. 6 Tyrell Hatton, who is also the defending champion at Bay Hill.

Asked on Wednesday how that all feels, Hatton replied:

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“Standing at 5’8, I wish I could walk onto the range a little taller (laughing), but sadly that’s out of my control.”

Hatton, who boasts six worldwide top-5s (including two wins) since last year’s API triumph, the continued.

“No, I mean, I feel confident when I go to a tournament if I know that my swing’s in a good place and I can kind of, if I manage my emotions well throughout the week then, sure, I’ll give myself a chance,” said Hatton, who is coming off of a T-22 at the WGC-Workday last week. “I felt last week that I was, I didn’t feel like I was swinging it that good and I was getting a bit frustrated and my golf got a little bit better each day. I actually played really good on Sunday … so I take confidence from that, that my swing kind of feels like it’s getting into a good place again and I guess we’ll see exactly tomorrow how it is.”