“He does not give a flying fig what anyone thinks of him, he has balls and is a massive asset for our Ryder Cup team.” So Rory McIlroy provided the perfect summation of Tyrrell Hatton as the Englishman with the hot head put on an ice-cool display to win the Dubai Desert Classic and move back into the world’s top 10.

Hatton began the final round one off the pace but with three birdies in his opening six holes forged a lead he never looked likely to surrender. Until, perhaps, the very last moment.

After playing partner Daniel Hillier birdied the 18th, Hatton was confronted with a six-footer for par to avoid a play-off. As McIlroy pointed out, Hatton has the minerals and he punched the air when the winning putt dropped. “My hands were shaking and I was relieved when it went in,” Hatton said. “I used to pretend I was ill to skip school to watch this tournament when I was a kid, so this is very special.”

It was nice to see positive emotion emanate from the 33-year-old, because for the rest of the weekend he was his usual picture of seething negativity. Even on his march to victory, Hatton makes sure to stop and point his finger to the heavens to berate the golfing gods. How dare they! This Sunday was no different. In fact, it was a microcosm of his character.

Of course, he chuntered to himself and gesticulated and genuinely acted as if the entire world had ganged up against him, but we should have known this was par for his highly individualistic course. “I’m always going to wear my heart on my sleeve,” he said. “I agree with Rory and I should keep being me.”

No doubt, his week here at the magnificent Majlis layout will be remembered by the perpetually offended for his tantrum on Saturday during which he dismantled the seventh-tee marker with his six-iron, but for those of us able to overlook his human tendencies, what stood out once again was an ability to bounce back from his torments and allow his killer instinct to take the day.

Hatton’s 69 gave him a 15-under total and a £1.25 million payout, with countryman Laurie Canter in third, one back from the Kiwi runner-up and defending champion McIlroy another shot behind in fourth courtesy of a fast-finishing 66 for a satisfactory season-opener.

If McIlroy is glad to have “Terrible Tyrrell” in the blue-and-gold team room – “not caring about other people’s opinions of you is a really good attribute to have in the game,” the Northern Irishman said – then so, too, is Luke Donald.

The Europe captain will look at the LIV man’s recent record in ranking events – this was his second win in six starts since the Saudi-funded breakaway league’s 2024 season ended in September and he also racked up a second, a fifth and a 10th in this staggering run – and be ever more desperate for Hatton to be in his ranks come September in New York.

There is still a possibility that Hatton could be excluded from Bethpage, if his appeal against the DP World Tour’s sanctions for joining LIV is heard before the biennial showdown and he loses and still refuses to pay his fines, but nobody seriously expects that to happen.

As it stands, Hatton is near the top in the Ryder Cup standings and although he will not play another regular counting event until after the qualification race ends in September, he could easily earn his place by right with his appearances in the majors. He is one of the form players in the game and what is genuinely remarkable about his results sheet is that since he jumped ship to LIV in that $50 million (£41 million) switch this time last year, his world ranking has not followed the normal downward spiral of a rebel.

When Hatton joined Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team he was world No 16. Now he is up to eighth. “I am proud,” Hatton said. “I’m not sure what is going to happen with the appeal, but I hope my commitment to this tour is clear. I’ve made no secret how much the Ryder Cup means and this gives me a chance to qualify automatically again.”