PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — He curses out loud, he slams his clubs, he castigates himself — and his ball.
All sometimes on the same hole.
Tyrrell Hatton, a combustible English golfer, can divide opinion with his on-course conduct but few can argue about the quality of his game.
And this week at Royal Portrush, he's making another run at a major championship.
Hatton shot 2-under 69 in the second round of the British Open on Friday and, on 5-under par, was three strokes off the clubhouse lead held by Brian Harman.
It comes just a few weeks after he was tied for the lead on Sunday at the U.S. Open when teeing off on the 71st hole, only for a bad break to derail his challenge.
Maybe, then, his seemingly erratic behavior doesn't do him too much harm.
''Although from the outside it looks like I'm completely gone,'' Hatton said, ''in my own mind I still know where I'm at.''