England's Hatton defends at Bay Hill after whirlwind year

MIAMI: England's Tyrrell Hatton defends his title this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where victory launched a roller-coaster year that included two wins in the past five months.

Sixth-ranked Hatton tees off Thursday at Bay Hill in Orlando, where he captured the final trophy before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the season for three months.

"The world has changed quite a bit in the last year since my win here, but, obviously, it's still fond memories and it's always going to be a special place for me," Hatton said Wednesday.

"It was a world-class field and it does a lot for the confidence. I'm sure it played a huge part in, once we restarted golf again, how I finished off the year."

After the layoff, Hatton captured last October's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and kept the momentum rolling through a January victory at Abu Dhabi for his sixth career European Tour triumph.

"Although we did have, unfortunately, a long break not long after the tournament last year, I kept that run going and ended up having a brilliant year," Hatton said.

"Winning for the first time on the PGA Tour at such an iconic venue is extremely special. It was a huge moment for me in my career."

Hatton knows what it's like to win back-to-back titles, doing so at the 2016 and 2017 Dunhill Links tournaments for his first European Tour triumphs.

"It was very special to defend the Dunhill and I'll be trying my best to do that this week here at Bay Hill," Hatton said.

"I feel confident when I go to a tournament. If I know that my swing's in a good place and I manage my emotions well throughout the week then I'll give myself a chance."